SAN ANTONIO â€" The Texas Lutheran volleyball team ended its Friday afternoon with an exciting come-from-behind win over Linfield at the Trinity Fall Classic. The day started with a tough loss to No. 18 Claremont-Mudd Scripps.
 
The Friday split moved the Bulldogs' record to 8-2 on the year. The two matches were just the second and third non-sweeps of TLU's young season. The loss against CMS also snapped a five-match winning streak.
 
The day ended on a good note though, as the Bulldogs battled back from match point twice to defeat Linfield 25-12, 18-25, 15-25, 25-22, 17-15.
 
After winning the opening set in convincing fashion, the Bulldogs hit some adversity as Linfield won the next two frames. After winning the fourth set to force a final, fifth frame, the Bulldogs found themselves with their backs against the wall down 14-12. Two straight attacking errors from Linfield gave the Bulldogs new life, but again they had to battle back from one more match point, down 15-14. That's when Kristin Fording took over, powering three straight kills to complete the TLU comeback.
 
Fording (San Antonio, Texas) was the hero for the Bulldogs, ending the match with a match-high 16 kills on .250 hitting. She also racked up six digs against Linfield.
 
The Bulldogs outhit Linfield, finishing with .200 hitting compared to .182 for the Wildcats.
 
Katie Darst (Euless, Texas) was on top of her game, the TLU setter tied her season high with 37 assists.  She also came up just one dig shy of a double-double.
 
Three Bulldogs finished with double-digit digs, led by senior Megan Lee (Universal City, Texas) and her 32 digs. Savannah Erskine (Burnet, Texas) and Megan Dugie (San Antonio, Texas) each finished with 12 digs.
 
The Bulldogs opened the tournament with an immediate test against No. 18-ranked Claremont Mudd Scripps. TLU battled back from two one-set deficits, but dropped a tightly contested fifth set for a 14-25, 25-16, 21-25, 25-21, 10-15 loss.
 
After winning the fourth set, it looked like the Bulldogs may be able to pull off the upset and extend their winning streak to six games. The Athenas took a 2-0 lead in the final set, but the Bulldogs ran off five straight points to take a 5-2 lead. TLU continued to lead 7-5 before the Athenas put together a 5-0 run of their own to take a lead they would never relinquish.
 
The Bulldogs, not usually one of the top blocking teams in the conference, notched 12 total blocks against the Athenas. Those 12 blocks are the most a TLU squad has recorded since it tallied 12 in the last match of the 2012 season.
 
Anna Keeling (Houston, Texas) played a big role in that dominant blocking performance. The junior notched a career-high seven total blocks (1 solo, 6 assists). Keeling added three kills and three digs to her day.
 
Continuing to look at the defensive side of the game, Lee (Universal City, Texas) enjoyed a solid performance in the back. The reigning SCAC Backrow Player of the Year finished with 32 digs against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. She also added four assists and a pair of kills.
 
Brette Threadgill (Sinton, Texas) led the team with 12 kills against the Athenas. The sophomore finished with .176 hitting. The Bulldogs ended up with .116 hitting as a team. Fording (San Antonio, Texas) was the other Bulldog with double-digit kills, finishing with 10.
 
After a tough first set, Texas Lutheran got its feet under it and answered the Athenas with a 25-16 win in the second set. The big blow came with a 7-2 run in the middle of the frame.
 
The third set went the Athenas' way again, although the Bulldogs got out to an 11-5 lead. At that point, CMS called a timeout, then commenced on a 9-3 run to take a 15-14 lead. The Bulldogs would pull even one more time in the set at 15-15, but the Athenas ended up closing on a 6-2 run.
 
The two teams were tied 7-7 in the fourth set, but a 9-2 run for the Bulldogs gave them a 16-9 lead. They would eventually push that advantage all the way to 24-15. The Athenas scored six straight points, but the Bulldogs eventually took the set with a Fording kill.
 
The Trinity Fall Classic concludes tomorrow with two more matches for the Bulldogs. First, at 10 a.m., they will face George Fox before ending the day at 12:15 p.m. against the University of Puget Sound.