Newcomers Lead Bulldogs to 3-0 Sweep of Willamette

HOUSTON, Texas -- Brylie Nedd (Sealy/Sealy) and Emily Mixon (Woodville/Woodville) had seven kills each with Nedd adding a service ace and four digs to lead the Texas Lutheran volleyball team to a 25-16, 29-27, 25-11 sweep of Willamette Friday night at the UST Labor Day Invitational.

Maddy Schultz (Richmond/Needville) notched six kills, five digs and a block, with Tanyse Moehrig (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley) adding five kills and an assist. Setter Shavonne Respondek (San Antonio/Madison) led with nine assists and a team-high five service aces with Julia Chew (Cypress/Cy-Falls) adding eight assists, six digs, and two service aces. Lexi Morris (Victoria/Victoria West) recorded a team-high 11 digs. Willamette hit .000 with five aces and four blocks.

The first set saw the Bulldogs take off with an early 10-3 lead and never looking back with the Bulldogs leading by as much as 20-10. A Willamette attack error gave TLU the 25-16 win. Brylie Nedd tallied three kills for the Bulldogs. 

The Bearcats improved their -.036 hitting percentage from the first set to .111 in the second but the outcome remained the same as Willamette fell in a tightly contested second set, 29-27. Emily Mixon took over in the second set finishing with five kills and .375 hitting percentage.

Down 2-0, Willamette came out swinging in the third set, taking an early 4-0 lead. Leading 7-4, the Bearcats let the Bulldogs go on a 7-2 run to take an 11-9 lead. The Bulldogs would close the set and match on a 14-2 run. Shavonne Respondek finished the set with four of her five service aces.

Texas Lutheran moves to 3-0 ahead of their Saturday doubleheader against Rose-Hulman and Widener to wrap the UST Labor Day Invitational. The Bulldogs tip-off at 10 AM against Rose-Hulman. 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), 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 Twitter, @tlu_athletics on Instagram and TikTok, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).