BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team split its opening day at the Trinity University Tournament, falling 3-1 to No. 11 Ohio Northern before sweeping Rowan 3-0.    
 
The Cru took the first set off No. 11 Ohio Northern 25-19, but fell 25-20, 25-17, 25-23 to take a 3-1 loss. Jenna Gillean led the Cru with 15 kills in the match, followed by Miranda Klein with 10. UMHB hit .208 in the contest with 53 kills. Cory Jo Martin led the Cru with 43 assists while Adrien Valdez and Klein each served three aces. Valdez was UMHB's defensive leader with 21 digs while Martin added 16 and Corinne Novak had 14. Kayla Janikula led at the net with five blocks, followed by Klein with four. Ohio Nothern hit 63 kills on 170 attacks for a .300 performance. The Polar Bears added six service aces, 93 digs and four team blocks.
 
UMHB responded with a 3-0 sweep of Rowan, beating the Profs 25-17, 25-20, 25-9. Kayla Janikula led the Cru with 10 kills while Jenna Gillean and Corinne Novak each added eight. UMHB hit 44 kills on 105 attacks for a .390 performance. Cory Jo Martin powered UMHB with 38 assists. Gillean led the Cru with three service aces as UMHB totaled six in the match. Defensively, Adrien Valdez led with 19 digs followed by Novak with 11 and Gillean with 10. UMHB limited the Profs to a .095 hitting percentage in the match. Rowan had 28 assists and 55 digs with three team blocks and two service aces.
 
UMHB improved to 15-5 on the season and returns to action tomorrow against the University of California, Santa Cruz and tournament-host Trinity. UMHB opens against the USCS Banana Slugs at 10 a.m. before taking on the Trinity Tigers at 12:15 p.m.