Mary Haridin-Baylor Athletics

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Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team fought back from an early two-set deficit, but the Cru comeback fell short in a 3-1 loss to the University of St. Thomas Tuesday evening in Belton. The loss drops UMHB to 7-9 on the season. The Celts improve to 11-3 on the year with the victory.

            The Cru lost the first two sets before starting strong and rolling to a third set victory. St. Thomas would dominate the fourth set and finish it out with a 25-20, 25-14, 19-25, 25-15 victory. The two teams would be tied at 17 in a balanced first set before the Celts won eight of the final 11 points. St. Thomas jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the second set and the Cru never recovered. The Cru would then build a 20-13 lead in the third set before the Celts fought back to close to within 22-19. UMHB would take the final three points to claim the set. The Celts dominated the early part of the fourth set, racing out to a 7-0 lead. The Cru would close back to within 13-7, but St. Thomas scored the next six points to pull away for the win.

            Tina Miller topped UMHB with 15 kills and Kimberly Smidovec added seven more. Erin Maenius had a team-high 26 digs and Jasmine Austin also reached double figures with 11 digs. Anissa Garcia had 19 assists and Savannah Payne chipped in with 18.

            Casey Mulryan topped four players in double figures with 14 kills for the Celts, who hit .264 as a team. Sarah Curiel-Thompson had 30 assists and Brittany Downs had a team-high 18 digs.

            The Cru will return to American Southwest Conference East Division play with a pair of road matches this weekend. UMHB will take on Mississippi College Friday at 5:00 PM in Jackson, Mississippi. The Cru will then face East Texas Baptist University in a 4:00 PM start Saturday in Marshall.