BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team swept the opening day of competition at the Dakota's Patriot Classic on the campus of the University of Texas at Tyler, earning a pair of 3-1 wins over Hendrix College and Birmingham-Southern College.
UMHB opened the day with a win over Hendrix College. UMHB took the first two sets 25-22, 25-13 before dropping the third 21-25. The Cru took the fourth set 25-19 for the four-set victory.
Madison Welch led the Cru with 14 kills in the match while
Sarah Paolini added 10 and
Miranda Klein had eight. UMHB hit .200 in the match, anchored by
Natasha Evans with 35 assists. Defensively,
Haleigh Evans led the Cru with 17 digs followed by Klein with 13 and
Corinne Novak with nine. UMHB's front line had a successful day at the net, recording a team-total 14 blocks led by
Maddie Frerich with seven and
Natasha Evans and
Sarah Paolini with six each. The Cru totaled 41 kills on 120 attacks, adding 10 service aces and 53 digs. Hendrix ended the match with 42 digs on 73 attacks for a .205 hitting percentage. The Warriors totaled 35 assists, 82 digs and 16 team blocks.
The Cru earned a similar 3-1 win over Birmingham-Southern to end the day. UMHB took the first two sets 25-15, 25-12 before dropping the third 23-25 and securing the win with a 25-22 fourth-set victory. Klein led the Cru with 18 kills while Novak added 14 and Frerich had 11.
Natasha Evans again led the Cru with 48 assists as UMHB hit .336 in the match. Defensively,
Haleigh Evans led the Cru with 21 digs, followed by Klein with 11 and Novak and
Madison Welch with 10. UMHB recorded 7.5 blocks as a team, led by Frerich and Paolini with four each. UMHB totaled 59 kills on 125 attacks with 53 digs and seven service aces.
The Cru returns to action Saturday, September 9
th in a 12 p.m. match against Rhodes College before taking on Texas Lutheran University at 4 p.m.
