BROWNWOOD, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team swept a pair of matches against Howard Payne University Saturday afternoon in Brownwood. The Cru improved to 11-6 on the year and 4-4 in American Southwest Conference play while the Yellow Jackets fell to 2-13 overall and 1-8 in league action.
 
UMHB opened the day with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-15 win over the Yellow Jackets. The Cru used an 8-1 run to gain a nine-point lead over the Yellow Jackets early. Howard Payne fought back, cutting the lead to three before UMHB finished with a 5-2 run to seal the first-set win. UMHB opened the second set with a 9-2 run to gain a substantial lead, and cruised to a 25-20 win there before dominating the third set with a 10-point win. Kaylie Vasil earned a double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs in the match. Katie Warden added seven kills as UMHB hit .236 as a team. Sydney Bowen led the Cru with 36 assists with Hannah Frasca recording a team-high 13 digs. McKenna Cowsert and Jenci Seahorn led defensive efforts at the net with two blocks each. 
 
The Cru opened the second match on a 5-1 run and used a 6-1 run halfway through to lead by six. UMHB led by as many as seven in the set, cruising to a 25-18 win. The second set opened with an 8-1 Cru run. Howard Payne fought back with a 6-1 run to cut the lead to three. UMHB responded, scoring seven unanswered points to take a 21-13 lead and sealing the set at 25-17. UMHB led by as many as 14 in the third set but the Yellow Jackets fought back with a seven-point run to cut the gap to 21-15. UMHB closed that set with four unanswered points for their second sweep of the day. Vasil led the Cru with 10 kills and 14 digs while Dravyn Hurd added nine kills. Frasca was UMHB's defensive leader again with 25 digs, followed by Gillispie and Vasil at 14. 
 
UMHB is back in action Friday, October 7^th with a 6:00 p.m. match against Hardin-Simmons in Belton.