Lady Westerners Rally but Fall in Decisive Fifth Set

Amarillo, TX – Déjà vu for the Lady Westerners, who once again fell in five sets after trailing 0–2 early. Set scores were 19–25, 9–25, 25–18, 25–22, and 9–15. The last time the Lady Westerners scored under ten points in a set and went on to win the next set was on October 2, 2019. This loss also snaps their four-game winning streak against the Badgers.

In the first set, the Lady Westerners jumped out to a 4–2 lead and extended it to 7–4 before the Badgers tied it at 13–13. A 5–0 run by Amarillo gave the Badgers a 16–13 advantage, and they held on to win the set 25–19. Western Texas College finished the set with 9 kills, 6 errors on 34 total attacks, for a hitting percentage of .088, while Amarillo College posted 11 kills, 2 errors on 29 attacks for a .310 hitting percentage.

Second set was even at 2–2 before the Badgers opened up an 11–6 lead. They closed the set firmly, outscoring the Lady Westerners 11–2 after the first timeout to win 25–9. Western Texas recorded 3 kills, 10 errors on 33 attacks with a -.212 hitting percentage, compared to Amarillo's 10 kills, 2 errors on 23 attacks for a .348 hitting percentage.

The Lady Westerners responded in the third set, rallying from an early 0–4 deficit to tie the score at 7–7 and then take a 10–8 lead. Strong defense and timely timeouts helped Western Texas hold off multiple comeback attempts to win the set 25–18. The team totaled 9 kills with 2 errors on 24 attacks, hitting .292, while the Badgers had 12 kills, 9 errors on 36 attacks, hitting .083.

Western Texas jumped out to a 4–1 lead in the fourth set and reached ten points first with a 10–8 advantage. They maintained their composure to win 25–22, forcing a decisive fifth set. The Lady Westerners recorded 11 kills, 6 errors on 42 attacks for a .119 hitting percentage, compared to Amarillo's 10 kills, 8 errors on 43 attacks for a .047 hitting percentage.

The final set saw the Badgers take an early 3–0 lead before the Lady Westerners tied it at 6–6. After a timeout, Amarillo went on a 3–0 run and later outscored Western Texas 4–2 to close the match 15–9. The Lady Westerners finished the set with 4 kills, 3 errors on 25 attacks for a .040 hitting percentage, while the Badgers posted 9 kills and 3 on 22 attacks for a .273 hitting percentage.

Aubrie Frazier had 11 kills on 26 attacks with a .231 hitting percentage, and Anayah Sinclair had 10 kills on 39 attacks with a .154 hitting percentage. Asli Cam contributed 7 kills, and Savhanna Thompson had 2 and 12 digs. Sydney Roberts added 2 kills and 17 assists, while Maja Ludyga contributed 2 kills and 4 block assists. The Lady Westerners had 36 kills, 27 errors on 158 attacks, hitting .057, 32 assists, eight service aces, 11 total blocks, and 63 digs.

The Lady Westerners will now head to Midland, TX, to take on Midland College at 2 PM on October 11, 2025, as they continue the second half of their season.