Tournament Central
BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team sealed its spot in the 2020-21 American Southwest Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament Final with a 3-0 sweep over McMurry University Friday evening in Belton. UMHB beat the War Hawks 25-14, 25-22, 28-26.
 
UMHB opened with a dominating 25-14 win in the first set. UMHB jumped to a 3-0 lead and did not trail in the set, sealing the win with a 5-0 run at the end. The Cru opened the second set down by two points and trailed until the 12-12 mark with UMHB tied the set. The set was tied once again at 17-17 before UMHB went on a 3-0 run to gain advantage and sealed the set with back-to-back kills from Alli Pierce and Kayla Janikula. The War Hawks came roaring back in the second set, keeping the set within three points and fighting off three match-points. UMHB finally earned their spot in the championship match with a kill from Corinne Novak and a ball handling error by McMurry.
 
Hannah Frasca led UMHB with 14 kills, followed by Novak with nine and Janikula with eight. UMHB hit .216 in the match, slamming 42 kills on 134 total attacks. Alli Pierce led UMHB with 31 assists while Maddie Gillispie added five. Gillispie led UMHB's defense with 19 digs while Pierce added 16 and Frasca had 15. UMHB limited the War Hawks to a .122 percentage in the match with 78 digs.
 
UMHB will face UT Dallas tomorrow in a 2 p.m. championship match at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton. The Comets advanced with a 3-2 Semifinal win over Concordia Texas. Admission to the championship match is free.