With ten new faces on the women's volleyball team, it may take some time for head coach Jim Callender to get a set lineup. In the meantime, Callender will try many different combinations. Everyone that traveled to the Lady Buff Classic this weekend saw time on the court.

After splitting their games on Friday, the Mustangs dropped their first game on Saturday morning. Nationally-ranked no. 5 West Texas A&M University edged past WNMU in four sets (9-25, 9-25, 25-22, 18-25). WNMU bounced back in their last match of the tournament, defeating the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in three straight sets (25-23, 25-15, 25-15).

Versus West Texas A&M, the Mustangs could not stop the Buffs' long rallies. The Buffs served seven straight midway through the first set before freshman Ziona Verhulsdonk (Kailua, HI, Hawaii Preparatory Academy) posted a kill to end the rally. Verhulsdonk finished the match with seven kills, one solo block, and two block assists.

Set two was nearly identical. The Buffs jumped out to a quick 13-3 lead and then went on a six-point rally to close the set.

The Mustangs finally got things together in set three. Strong servers Ellen East (Pomerene, AZ, Benson High School, Yavapai Community College) and Natali Murdock (Phoenix, AZ, Pinnacle High School) gave the Mustangs an 11-1 run to quiet the Buffs for a short time, but the Buffs closed the gap midway through the set. West Texas' Melissa Harper recorded a kill to put the score at 19-20. A kill by Jordan Johnston (Boise, ID, Centennial High School) and a West Texas error, however, gave the set win to the Mustangs.

Set four went back and forth for the first half 16 points. The teams were tied at eight. Slowly the Buffs pulled away for the match win.

Murdock finished the match with 12 kills to lead the team. East handed out 24 assists, posted two service aces, and tallied nine digs. Leading the defense was Marilee Frost (Long Beach, CA, Robert A. Millikan High School) with 13 digs.

In the final match of the tournament, Permian Basin stayed in the first set despite the Mustangs hitting .312. East and Verhulsdonk, not wanting another close set, helped the Mustangs run away with the second set early on. East served two service aces, and Verhulsdonk posted two kills to jump ahead, 9-3. This gave the team enough momentum to win the second set, 25-15.

The momentum carried into the third and final set also. JoBeth Erling's (Coal Valley, IL, Moline High School, Augustana College)serving forced the Buffs to make costly attacking errors. The Mustangs jumped ahead by ten points midway through. WNMU finished with that ten-point advantage at the end of the match when Verhulsdonk capped the win with another kill.

Verhulsdonk finished the final match with 14 kills and a .360 hitting percentage. East had 29 assists. Frost again led the defense with nine digs.

On the weekend, Murdock and Verhusldonk combined for 62 of the teams 128 kills. East averaged 6.14 assists per game and .64 aces per game.

Click here for complete statistics of the West Texas A&M match.

Click here for complete statistics of the Permian Basin match.