Box Score .
San Antonio, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team fell 3-2 to Southwestern University in the First Round of the NCAA Division III National Championships. The Cru ends their season at 29-8 while the Pirates will advance to face the winner of UC Santa Cruz and Trinity in the Second Round of NCAA regional competition.
The Pirates grabbed an early 26-24 win over UMHB before the Cru responded with back-to-back 25-21 set victories. Southwestern earned 25-23 fourth-set win to force a fifth set. UMHB trailed 8-1 at the split and mounted a comeback to tie the deciding set at 13, but fell to Southwestern 15-13.
Lauren Powell and
Kendall Pye led the Cru with 11 kills each while
Cheyenne Dowdey,
Bianca Patterson and
Katrina Kastmo each added ten. Pye and
Shelby Prather each assisted 26 kills with five other Crusaders recording assists. UMHB's defense recorded 97 digs in the match, led by
Kendra Feldmann's 31. Five other Crusaders recorded double-dig digs, led by Powell's 18. Dowdey was the Cru's leading blocker with three solo blocks and 11 block assists. UMHB hit .161 in the match and totaled 61 kills.
The Cru ends their 2013 season at 29-8 with school records for wins and sweeps in a season. UMHB also earned the program's first NCAA Division III National Championships berth and made history as the first squad to receive votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll
