College of the Ozarks vs Texas Wesleyan - Friday, September 11
College of the Ozarks split a two-match Texas road swing, defeating Texas Wesleyan 3-1 Friday before falling to Nelson (Texas) 3-1 Saturday. The Lady Cats rallied past Texas Wesleyan 19-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-20 at the Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, then dropped a 25-15, 25-16, 20-25, 25-19 decision to Nelson in Waxahachie.

Texas Wesleyan took the opening set Friday despite a Lady Cats comeback that erased a four-point deficit. Cora Rutledge completed the rally with a kill that tied the set at 14, but Texas Wesleyan answered with four straight points and closed out a 25-19 win. College of the Ozarks responded decisively in the second set. With the score tied at 9, Addison Hammond served throughout an 11-point run that included an ace and three late kills by Anna Brunner. Kamryn Link’s set-ending ace completed the 25-15 victory and tied the match.

Kalli Noell and McKenna McClure helped the Lady Cats control the net during a 5-0 third-set run that produced a 10-5 advantage. Texas Wesleyan later trimmed a 22-15 deficit to 22-19, but Audrey Riley delivered the final kill in a 25-22 win. Brunner then recorded three kills during a 5-0 start to the fourth. After Texas Wesleyan pulled within 13-11, Rutledge and Riley answered with consecutive kills, and Riley finished the 25-20 set with a kill off Link’s assist.

Brunner led the Friday attack with 16 kills, a .538 hitting percentage and four total blocks. Rutledge added 13 kills, while Riley finished with nine kills, 16 assists and eight digs. Link had 18 assists and 12 digs, and Emma Godwin led the back row with 17 digs while adding two aces. College of the Ozarks totaled 51 kills, 65 digs, six aces and seven blocks, hit .213 and held Texas Wesleyan to a .141 percentage.

College of the Ozarks vs Nelson University - Saturday, September 12
Nelson gained the early advantage Saturday by winning the first two sets. The Lady Cats erased a three-point deficit and tied the second set at 9 on a McClure kill and a Nelson attack error, but Nelson responded with four consecutive points and eventually built a 22-13 lead. College of the Ozarks extended the match in the third set. Riley’s ace tied it at 15, and Godwin served during a 4-0 run that broke an 18-18 tie. Her ace and two Lady Cats blocks made it 21-18 before Noell supplied a late kill in the 25-20 win.

Nelson opened the fourth set with six straight points and stretched its lead to 14-4. The Lady Cats mounted another rally, cutting the 10-point deficit to 19-15 behind an ace and a Rutledge kill, but Nelson answered and closed the match 25-19. Rutledge led College of the Ozarks with nine kills, Riley had eight kills and 15 assists, and Godwin collected 25 digs. Anna Brunner totaled six blocks, while McClure had seven kills and Noell added six kills and four blocks. The Lady Cats will return home this upcoming weekend to host Oklahoma Panhandle State and Wayland Baptist University on Friday and Saturday.