West Texas A & M outlast Pittsburg State

WTAMU 3, PSU 1

November 21, 2008-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.  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 with Laura Prinson with 19, Lauren Thedford with 13 and Melissa Harper with 11 kills. Katie Rickwartz finished with 66 assists in the match a tournament high thus far.

For the Gorillas Sammie Williams finished with 15 kills while Linda Igbinigie had 13 and Klaudia Grelowskil came in with 18 kills. Emily Vosseler finished with 46 assists while Pamela Cartagena finished with 30 digs.

West Texas A&M will play the winner of the match between UT-Permian Basin and Emporia State in the semifinals on Saturday at 7 p.m.