SHERMAN, Texas – After picking their second straight-set sweep of the season with a win over Paul Quinn College, the Concordia Texas volleyball team rallied to take down St. Thomas (TX) in a five-set thriller to close out the Austin College Classic on Saturday and register their best start to a season since 1990.
The Tornados have now won four matches in a row to open 2019, the program's best start to a season since 1990 when the team won its first six matches of the year.
Concordia Texas made quick work of the Tigers in the first match of the day, winning the sets 25-16, 25-18 and 25-20 to record their second shutout of the year.
Utilizing a well-balanced attack, the Tornados picked up their third win of the year. Four players tallied six or more kills, led by
Tristyn Massey,
Kyndall Ellis and
Cassie Jackson, while Lianne Vandyke and
Georgia Quiroz had 15-plus assists each in the victory.
In the final match of the tournament for CTX, the team fell behind early, dropping the opening set to the Celts 25-20. In the following set, trailing 14-11, the Tornados would not go quietly, going on a 12-6 run to take a late lead and finished of a 25-22 win on an Ellis kill.
St. Thomas (TX) responded in the third set though, grabbing a 25-19 win to retake the lead.
In the fourth set, Massey caught fire, recording seven of her team-high 20 kills and CTX even the match at 2-all after a 25-20 win.
In the decisive set, the teams went back and forth with the Tornados holding a one-point lead at the flip of the period. Tied at 9-all, back-to-back Quiroz service aces gave CTX the lead for good, winning the set 15-11 to defeat the Celts and remain unbeaten.
Five Tornados finished in double figures in kills, led by Massey, who picked up her second double-double of the season with 20 kills and a team-high 25 digs.
Taryn Alexander, the freshman of out Keller, Texas, finished with a career-high 13 kills.
Quiroz and VanDyke, meanwhile, each posted double-doubles for the match, finishing with 31 assists, 18 digs and 22 assists and 16 digs, respectively.
Next, CTX will take their four-match win streak and stay on the road, traveling to Thousand Oaks, Calif., competing in the Cal Lu Fornia Invitational. The Tornados will open the tournament against Linfield on Friday at 2 p.m.
