Tournament Central
Interview with Mark Pryor and Sarah Paolini
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RICHARDSON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team came from behind to take a 3-1 win over LeTourneau University Friday evening in Richardson, securing a spot in the 2019 American Southwest Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament final.    
 
UMHB trailed early in the first set as LeTourneau used a 7-0 run to take a substantial lead. UMHB fought back late but wasn't able to catch up, surrendering a 25-14 win to the YellowJackets. The Cru responded in the second with a 5-0 run and 4-0 run to go up by 11, evening the match with a 25-11 set victory. The YellowJackets jumped to a seven-point lead in the third but UMHB used a 10-1 run to gain advantage and held that lead, taking a 25-20 win. LeTourneau led again in the fourth before UMHB went on a 5-1 run to tie the set at 16. UMHB chipped away at a lead, securing the match with a 25-22 win.
 
Sarah Paolini dominated offensively for the Cru, hitting .552 in the match with 19 kills. Corinne Novak and Jenna Gillean each added 11 kills each while Kayla Janikula put up 10. Cory Jo Martin led the Cru with 31 assists, followed by Miranda Klein with 18. Defensively, Adrien Valdez put up a team-high 31 digs followed by Novak with 17 and Gillean with 14. Klein was UMHB's leading blocker with six block assists while Paolini added one solo block and four block assists. UMHB totaled 95 digs and 8.5 team blocks, limiting the YellowJackets to a .146 showing in the contest.
 
UMHB advances to the championship match on Saturday, November 9^th. The Cru will play tournament-host UT Dallas at 1 p.m. with the winner earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA championships. This marks the sixth consecutive time UMHB and UT Dallas will meet in the final match with the Comets leading 3-2 in titles since 2014.