Bulldogs Fall to Bennies, 3-2

LEXINGTON, KY -- Immediately taking the court after their five set thriller with Transylvania, the Bulldogs were able to force the College of Saint Benedict to five sets before falling to the Bennies 21-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 6-15 on Friday.

A back-and-forth first set that featured eight ties and four lead changes before Saint Benedict scored the final four points of the set the tone for what would be a tightly contested match.

In the second set, the Bulldogs trailed from the outset, the Bulldogs would force a 12-12 tie but the Bennies would eventually pull away to take the second set 19-25 to take a 2-0 lead and an opportunity to sweep the Bulldogs in grasp.

The Bulldogs used a late set rally to win their first set of the afternoon - finishing the set on a 4-0 run. Madison Weisinger (Friendswood/Friendswood) and Paige Day (San Antonio/Reagan) were instrumental in the third set for a Bulldog team with their backs against the wall. Weisinger led the Bulldogs with four kills and a block while Day added three kills and a block.

In a must-win fourth set, Texas Lutheran never trailed and used a 4-1 run over the last five points to force an extra set. Emily Mixon (Woodville/Woodville) helped the Bulldogs stay alive with four kills in the fourth set.

Coming down to a decisive fifth set, the Bulldogs 10th set in a span of four hours, Saint Benedict took an 8-5 lead forcing a Texas Lutheran timeout. A kill by Mixon stopped the lengthy Bennies rally but it was too much to overcome as the Bennies handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the season.

Junior transfer Emily Mixon put away a team-high 12 kills. Fifth-year senior Madison Weisinger added 10 kills and two blocks while Tanyse Moehrig (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley) and Keriann Kallus (New Braunfels/New Braunfels) added eight kills each.

Lexi Morris (Victoria/Victoria West) led the Bulldogs with 25 digs. Shavonne Respondek (San Antonio/Madison) added 14 digs and 24 assists and Julia Chew (Cypress/Cy-Fair) added 11 digs and a team-high 25 assists - also a career high.

The Bulldogs continue their run in the Transy Invite with a Saturday doubleheader against 2021 NCAA Tournament qualifier Whitworth University and Illinois College. The Bulldogs tip-off at 10 AM EST against Whitworth University on the campus of Transylvania University. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.