Eagles erase 0-2 deficit to beat OLLU, split conference series

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — After a back-and-forth affair in Friday's match, A&M-Texarkana fell behind by two sets in Saturday's matinee, but this time they would get the job done, beating Our Lady of the Lake to earn a split with the Saints in the conference series.

The Eagles (16-6 overall, 7-1 RRAC) dropped the first two sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-18, but switched gears to take the final three sets with scores of 25-23, 25-14 and 16-14, putting them back into a tie with OLLU in the conference standings.

Aerin Muijs led the Eagles with nine kills and three different Eagles – Katherin Toftemark, Mia Mata, and Alanna Deering – each had eight. Toftemark, who is currently seventh nationally in blocks, finished with a game-high five blocks.

Zuleica Cruz had 23 assists and nine digs, Kimberlee Joyce had 15 assists and Madison Arrieta led the team with 18 digs. Claudia Etling had 12 digs while Mata finished with 10.

The Eagles won despite hitting just 0.072 with 45 kills and 34 errors on 152 attempts. They were helped by 11 service errors from the Saints (10-8, 7-1). OLLU finished hitting just 0.130 percent.

A&M-Texarkana is on the road again this week for three matches, including two against conference foe Jarvis Christian. The Eagles face the Bulldogs on Friday at 6 pm, then play a doubleheader Saturday with games against Jarvis at noon, and Williams Baptist (Ark.) at 2 pm.