TLU Volleyball Takes Two on Saturday, Sweeps through SU Invitational

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran battled to take two wins across two different venues on Saturday to sweep through the SU Invitational hosted by Southwestern University, defeating UT-Dallas in four sets Saturday morning at Southwestern before traveling to Concordia University to defeat Pacific Lutheran in five sets Saturday afternoon.

Texas Lutheran has won five of their last six matches in the SU Invitational dating back to last season.

Texas Lutheran took down the Comets of UT-Dallas in four sets, 25-15, 21-25, 25-13, 25-14, at the Robertson Center in Georgetown.

Brylie Nedd (Sealy/Sealy) led with 14 kills and 13 digs for her second double-double of the season in addition to a career-high eight service aces. The eight service aces are the most since Kelcie Ingram's eight ace match in 2015 and falls one shy of matching Barbara Daughety's program record of nine service aces in a match set in 2003. Ryann Ely (Montgomery/Concordia Lutheran) finished with 10 kills, three digs, and a block. Freshmen Andie Lozano-Lomeli (Brownsville/Pace) and Zaria Solis (Burnet/Burnet) combined for a huge morning with both finishing with eight kills and six blocks, tying for the team-high.

Faith Coldewey (Floresville/Floresville) finished with 20 digs to go with four assists and two service aces. Julia Chew (Cypress/Cy-Fair) finished with 11 digs and 17 assists for her third double-double of the season.

Shavonne Respondek (San Antonio/Madison) dished out a team-high 21 assists and added 12 digs and two kills for her fourth double-double of the season.

Texas Lutheran cruised through the first set 25-15 before the Comets would respond by taking the second set 25-21.

TLU bounced back in a big way in the third set, cruising to a 25-13 win to take a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set was a breeze as well as the Bulldogs closed out the win with a 25-14 set win.

After taking a 35-minute trip to Concordia University, Texas Lutheran would survive a five-set thriller against PLU, 16-25, 25-17, 25-8, 23-25, 15-9 to complete their sweep of the SU Invitational. The win marks the first in program history over the Lutes after dropping their first two matchups in 2011 and 2012.

Brylie Nedd led the Bulldogs with 15 kills and nine digs, while freshman Briana Salvatierra-Moore (San Antonio/Antonian College Prep) stepped up off the bench to finish with eight kills, three blocks, four digs, and an ace.

Shavonne Respondek had her fifth double-double in six matches in 2024 with 22 assists and 16 digs while adding three kills and three service aces.

Faith Coldewey held the team lead with 27 digs with Richelle Guerra (Brownsville/Rivera) added a career-high 22 digs. Julia Chew also added 16 assists.

The Bulldogs started slow in the first set and were unable to overcome a large deficit, falling 25-16. TLU was held to a -.028 hitting percentage while PLU managed to hit .238.

TLU had a much better start in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead to start the set. TLU was eventually able to stretch out to an 18-10 lead before closing out the set 25-17 to tie the match at one set apiece.

The Bulldogs dominated the third set going on a 25-8 run to take a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set was close throughout but the Lutes were able to force a decisive fifth set, taking the fourth set, 25-23.

Texas Lutheran started strong in the fifth set, taking an 8-3 lead and out to a 13-8 lead late before closing out the match for a 15-9 win in the fifth set.

Following the conclusion of the tournament, Brylie Nedd, Faith Coldewey, and Shavonne Respondek were named to the SU Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Texas Lutheran will travel to Ohio for one final non-conference tournament ahead of SCAC play as they participate in the 2024 Bishop Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, OH. The Bulldogs first match in the tournament will take place on Thursday September 12 against the host, Ohio Wesleyan at 7 PM EST/ 6 PM CST. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com. 

For more information on Texas Lutheran volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (TLU Volleyball), X (Twitter) (@TLU_VB), and Instagram (@tlu_vb) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on X (Twitter), @tlu_athletics on Instagram, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).