TUCSON, Ariz. – Junior setter Caitlynn Masoe led the team with 10 kills, five in each match, in two matches of the Wildcat Classic on Friday as Savannah State University volleyball team fell to No. 2 Texas 3-0 (25-7, 25-9, 25-9) and to New Mexico State 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-13) at the McKale Center.
 
Masoe added nine assists and five digs in two matches, while freshman setter Briana Littlejohn led the team with 12 assists in two matches, six in each match, and junior libero Alexis Washington led the team with 14 assists, including nine against Texas.

Junior middle blocker Gabrielle Nathaniel and freshman outside hitter Makayla Tam each added five kills in both matches, while Nathaniel added 10 digs, five in each match.
 
No. 2 Texas 3, Savannah State 0
Masoe led the team with five kills and a .286 hitting percentage and added four assists and two digs, while Tam added four kills and a service ace and Nathaniel added three kills and had a .231 hitting percentage with five digs.  Littlejohn led the team with six assists and Washington led the team with nine digs.
 
The Longhorns (8-1) got off to a fast start in the first set scoring 11 of the first 12 points to force a Savannah State (0-13) timeout.  The next two points belong to the Lady Tigers with back-to-back kills by junior outside hitter Jademone Jones and Tam to cut the lead to 11-3.  UT outscored SSU 14-4 during the rest of the set to take a 1-0 lead.  Nathaniel led the team with four digs and Washington added two digs.
 
The Lady Tigers scored the first point in the second set for a 1-0 lead, but Texas scored eight of the next 11 points to take an 8-4 lead.  Savannah State scored the next three points to cut the lead to a point, 8-7, but Texas scored the next 14 points to take a 22-7 lead.  The Lady Tigers scored the next two points before the Longhorns closed out the set scoring the next three points to win the set and take a 2-0 lead at intermission.  Masoe led the team with three kills, while Littlejohn added three assists and Washington added five digs. 
 
With the Longhorns up 4-2 in the final set, UT added to its lead by scoring the next five points to take a 9-2 lead.  Texas outscored SSU 16-7 during the rest of the set to win the set and the match.  Tam led the team with three kills, while Washington added two digs and Littlejohn and Masoe each added two assists.
 
The Longhorns were led by Amy Neal with nine kills, Chloe Collins with 20 assists and Cat McCoy with 16 digs. 
 
New Mexico State 3, Savannah State 0
Masoe led the team with five kills and added five assists, one service ace, three digs and a block, while Littlejohn led the team with six assists and Washington and Nathaniel led the team with five digs each.  Nathaniel added two kills, a service ace and two block assists.  
 
The Lady Tigers scored the first point of the match to lead 1-0 in the first set, but New Mexico State (9-4) scored the next two points to take a 2-1 lead before a kill by Masoe tied the match at two.  The Aggies scored five of the next seven points to take a 7-4 lead and extended its lead by scoring the next 11 points for an 18-4 lead.  NMSU outscored SSU 7-5 during the rest of the set to take an early 1-0 lead.  Masoe led the team with four kills, while Littlejohn added three assists.
 
After a kill by senior outside hitter Christian Lyle to begin the second set to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead, the Aggies scored the next three points for a 3-1 lead before a kill by Littlejohn cut the lead to 3-2.  With the score 11-6, the Lady Tigers scored the next three points to cut the lead to 12-9.  The Aggies outscored SSU 13-5 during the rest of the set to take a 2-0 lead into intermission.  Masoe led the team with four assists, while Jones added two digs. 
 
After a service ace by Masoe to open the final set to give the Lady Tigers a 1-0 lead, the Lobos scored the next two points to take a 2-1 lead.  The next couple of points went back-and-forth and with the score tied at four, NMSU scored six of the next eight points to take a 10-6 lead and extended its lead by scoring the next four points for a 14-7 lead.  The Aggies outscored SSU 11-6 during the rest of the set to win the set and the match.  Lyle led the team with two kills and had a .333 hitting percentage, while Nathaniel, Masoe and Washington each added two digs. 
 
New Mexico State was led by Jordan Abalos and Gwen Murphy with eight kills each, Taylor Livoti with 14 assists and Tatyana Battle with 12 digs. 
 
The Lady Tigers finish the Wildcat Classic on Saturday with host No. 16 Arizona at 3 p.m. and then return home for its longest homestand of the season starting with Charleston Southern on Monday at 6 p.m. at Willcox-Wiley Gym.
 
Short Box Score (Match)
Savannah State vs #2 Texas (Sep 18, 2015 at Tucson, Ariz.)
 
Texas def. Savannah State 25-7,25-9,25-9
 
  Savannah State (0-13) (Kills-aces-blocks) - MASOE,Caitlynn 5-0-0;
  TAM,Makayla 4-1-0; NATHANIEL,Gabrielle 3-0-0; OFODILE,Chinenye 1-0-0;
  JONES,Jademone 1-0-0; Totals 14-1-0.0. (Assists) - . (Dig leaders) -
  WASHINGTON,Alexis 9; NATHANIEL,Gabrielle 5
 
  Texas (8-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Neal, Amy 9-0-1; Ogbogu, Chiaka
  8-1-2; Baselovic, Mirta 6-0-3; Bedart-Ghani, Yaazie 4-0-3; McCage,
  Molly 4-0-2; P. Cerame, Paulina 3-2-0; Johnson, Morgan 2-0-1; Collins,
  Chloe 2-3-0; Palladino, Kate 0-1-0; Dalton, Nicole 0-1-0; Totals
  38-8-6.0. (Assists) - Collins, Chloe 20; Dalton, Nicole 12. (Dig
  leaders) - McCoy, Cat 16; Brooks, Kat 7
 
  Site: Tucson, Ariz. (McKale Center)
  Date: Sep 18, 2015   Attend: 88   Time: 1:10   
  Referees: Michael Yoshikawa, Kim Pickering
 
Short Box Score (Match)
Savannah State vs New Mexico State (Sep 18, 2015 at Tucson, Ariz.)
 
New Mexico State def. Savannah State 25-9,25-14,25-13
 
  Savannah State (0-14) (Kills-aces-blocks) - MASOE,Caitlynn 5-1-1;
  LYLE,Christian 3-0-0; NATHANIEL,Gabrielle 2-1-2; JONES,Jademone 2-0-0;
  LITTLEJOHN,Briana 1-0-0; OFODILE,Chinenye 1-0-1; TAM,Makayla 1-1-1;
  Totals 15-3-3.0. (Assists) - . (Dig leaders) - WASHINGTON,Alexis 5;
  NATHANIEL,Gabrielle 5
 
  New Mexico State (9-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Abalos, Jordan 8-0-1;
  Murphy, Gwen 8-1-5; Popovich, Bryn 7-0-2; Nash, Bradley 5-0-1; Thomas,
  Sasha-Lee 4-0-2; Castellanos, Nathali 3-0-2; Tohm, Kassandra 2-0-0;
  Battle, Tatyana 1-0-0; Jones, Audra 1-0-0; Fazio, Natalie 0-1-0; Neal,
  Kaylee 0-1-0; Pedraza, Addison 0-1-0; Totals 39-4-7.0. (Assists) -
  Livoti, Taylor 14; Brown, Ashlyn 13. (Dig leaders) - Abalos, Jordan
  12; Neal, Kaylee 9
 
  Site: Tucson, Ariz. (McKale Center)
  Date: Sep 18, 2015   Attend: 127   Time: 1:15   
  Referees: Daphne Nelson, Greg Leung
 
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