Bulldogs Fall to Southwestern, 3-2

HOUSTON, Texas -- After forcing Southwestern to a five-set match, the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs fell to the Pirates, 23-25, 25-23, 24-26, 25-19, 7-15 on Saturday in Houston, Texas.

Texas Lutheran started the opening set on a 8-0 run forcing a Pirates timeout and the Pirates wouldn't go away quietly. Despite the Bulldogs leading for the majority of the set, Southwestern chipped away and closed the set on an 11-4 run to take the opener, 23-25

The second set was back-and-forth featuring six ties and four lead changes before Texas Lutheran scored seven of the last eight points off the set to claim the set and tie the match.

The Pirates used another late rally to pull out an extra point victory in the third set. Texas Lutheran served for set point at 24-23, but a Southwestern kill knotted the score 24-all. A TLU attack error and Southwestern service ace gave the Pirates a 2-1 advantage.

In a must-win fourth set, Texas Lutheran led for most of the set to force a decisive fifth set.

Coming down to the fifth set, Southwestern opened with a 6-1 run forcing a Texas Lutheran timeout but the Bulldogs were never able to gain control in the fifth set as Southwestern handed the Bulldogs their fourth loss of the season - all in five sets.

Sophomore transfer Brylie Nedd (Sealy/Sealy) continued her successful start as a Bulldog, putting away a team-high 11 kills and notching a double-double by adding 11 digs. Tanyse Moehrig (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley) matched Nedd with 11 kills in addition to six digs and two blocks. Maddy Schultz (Richmond/Needville) contributed 10 kills, eight digs and four blocks.

Libero Lexi Morris (Victoria/Victoria West) led TLU with 25 digs total. Shavonne Respondek (San Antonio/Madison) added 17 digs in addition to a team-high 21 assists for her second double-double of the day. Madison Weisinger (Friendswood/Friendswood) registered a team-high five blocks.

The Bulldogs travel back to Seguin to host the University of St. Thomas Celts on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6 PM as the Bulldogs host a black out in Memorial Gymnasium. The Bulldogs will then face the Crusaders of Mary Hardin-Baylor on Wednesday, Sept. 28 at 6 PM at Memorial Gymnasium for "High School Night." 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).