ABILENE, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team fought hard but fell short in a 3-1 loss to Hardin-Simmons University Tuesday evening in Abilene. UMHB dropped to 9-4 overall and 2-3 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cowgirls moved to 9-2 on the year and 4-1 in league play.
 
UMHB went up 2-0 in the first set but the Cowgirls quickly recovered to tie the set at 3-3. The opening set saw 10 tied scores before Hardin-Simmons used a 6-1 run to pull away late and seal the win at 25-19. The script flipped in the second set with 12 tied scores before UMHB used a 3-1 chip to earn enough distance to close the set with a 25-22 win. The Cowgirls opened the third set with a seven-point lead and held on. HSU led 21-9 before UMHB constructed an 8-1 run to pull within five. Hardin-Simmons closed the set with a 3-2 series to put HSU with another 25-19 set score. The Cru led by six early in the fourth set but Hardin-Simmons fought back, tying the set at 13 with a 7-1 run. Neither team led by more than three points until the 21-21 mark when HSU scored five consecutive points to seal the four-set victory.
 
Katie Warden led the Cru with 13 kills followed by Hannah Frasca with 12. UMHB totaled 48 kills in the match with Ella Brunson anchoring the offense totaling 42 assists. Maddie Gillispie led the Cru defense with 20 kills while Hannah Frasca added 15 and Ella Brunson had 14.
 
UMHB returns to action on Friday, September 23^rd in a 6 p.m. match at Concordia University Texas in Austin.