WT opens volleyball regional with victory
West Texas A&M got 26 kills from Natalie Johnson in a 25-20, 31-29, 22-25, 30-28 win over Pittsburg State in the first round of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Volleyball Tournament in Emporia's White Auditorium.
The Lady Buffs fought off five set points in the second set, while the Gorillas used a 9-0 run at the end of the third set to force a fourth. PSU did not go quietly in the fourth set as they battled through five match points before Johnson ended the match with her 26th kill.
Three other Lady Buffs finished with double digit kills led by Laura Prinson with 19, Lauren Thedford with 13 and Melissa Harper with 11. Katie Rickwartz finished with 66 assists in the match a tournament high thus far.
WT avenged a regular season loss to the Gorillas and will play top seed and host Emporia State in the semifinals on Saturday at 7 p.m. ESU swept Texas-Permian Basin on Friday.
