SEGUIN â€" The Texas Lutheran volleyball squad finished off the 2014 Bulldog Classic with a sweep of Lewis & Clark College and a 3-2 loss to Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday at Susan Duke Court at Tostengard Activity Center.
 
The split wrapped up a 3-1 weekend for the Bulldogs. They have opened the season in good form, dropping just three out of the first 14 sets they've played.
 
The Bulldogs notched their third sweep in two days to close out the Bulldog Classic, defeating Lewis & Clark 25-17, 25-9, 25-23. TLU outhit Lewis & Clark .219-.103, also coming up with 59 digs compared to 52 for the pioneers. It was at the service line that TLU really turned the tide though. Megan Lee (Universal City, Texas) poured in six aces herself, while the team recorded seven compared to just one for the Pioneers.
 
Lee was solid all tournament for the Bulldogs. She finished with 22 digs against the Pioneers, to go along with those six aces and three assists. Five of her aces came in the opening two sets.
 
Offensively, the Bulldogs were led by Brette Threadgill (Sinton, Texas) and her 10 kills. She finished the tournament with four double-digit kill performances, hitting .103 in the final match against the Pioneers.
 
Katie Darst was at the point of the Bulldog attack, racking up 27 assists to go along with five digs and two kills against Lewis & Clark.
 
The Bulldogs' first match of the day was much anticipated after both TLU and UW-Oshkosh won their respective matches on Friday. Both teams came into Saturday 2-0 and looking to really open up their season on a high note.
 
From the beginning, it was obvious the Bulldogs were very much aware of the quality of their opposition, busting out to a two-sets-to-none lead. Unfortunately for TLU, it couldn't hold the advantage, eventually falling 25-16, 25-19, 23-25, 21-25, 9-15.
 
The Bulldogs came within points of a third consecutive sweep, pushing to a 23-22 lead after a three-point spurt. The Titans proved tough though, with three straight Bulldog attack errors allowing Oshkosh to take the set and stay alive.
 
Both teams' hitting percentages mirrored the way the scores went during the match. The Bulldogs came out on fire, pounding their way to a .211 hitting percentage through the first two sets, while the Titans were held to just .084. As the match wore on though, the Bulldogs finished with .068 hitting, while the Titans pushed their percentage up to .121.
 
Darst came up big against the Titans, finishing with the first double-double of the season. The senior recorded 37 assists and 10 digs, also notching an ace.
 
Lee tallied 37 more digs and came up with three kills and two assists, while sophomore transfer Kristin Fording (San Antonio, Texas) led the team with 16 kills on .130 hitting. Fording was remarkable through the first two sets, notching 11 kills on .417 hitting.
 
Another four-match, two-day tournament awaits Texas Lutheran next weekend. The Bulldogs will travel up to Sherman, Texas and the campus of Austin College to participate in the Austin College Invitational. They will take on Howard Payne and Texas-Dallas on Friday, Sept. 5 before wrapping things up against Texas-Tyler and LeTourneau on Saturday, Sept. 6.