BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team earned a five-set win over Hardin-Simmons University Thursday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 10-0 on the season and 2-0 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cowgirls fell to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in league play. The win also earned
Mark Pryor his 300
th career victory as a collegiate head coach.
The Cru opened set one with a 3-0 lead before the Cowgirls used a 5-1 run to take a 5-4 margin. UMHB responded with five unanswered points and held the high ground through the set. UMHB used a 4-0 run to take a seven-point lead and cruised to a 25-17 win in the first.
The second set played back and forth with neither team leading by more than two points until the 12-12 mark when a kill from
Dravyn Hurd sparked a 5-1 run to put the Cru up by four. UMHB held on to that lead and used another 5-1 run to put the Cowgirls away with another 25-17 win.
Hardin-Simmons fought back in the third, using a 10-1 run halfway through the set to take a double-digit lead on the Cru. UMHB was persistent in pursuit, going on a five-point series late in the set but a kill from Liz Underwood sealed the 25-20 win for the Cowgirls. Hardin-Simmons used another mid-set run to earn a 25-21 win in the fourth, forcing the contest into a fifth set.
The Cowgirls opened the final set with the first two points but UMHB answered with a 4-1 run to go back on top. After a few back-and-forth points, UMHB closed the set on a 7-1 run to earn the 15-8 set-win and match victory.
Baylee Mobley led the Cru with 12 kills while
Natalie Hughes and
Dravyn Hurd each added 10. UMHB totaled 54 kills in the match, anchored by
Kendall Harrington with 20 assists and
Caitlyn Ellenburg with 19. Mobley was the Cru's defensive leader, totaling 22 digs with Harrington following just behind her at 21.
Natalie Hughes led the defensive efforts at the net with six blocks, followed by
Dravyn Hurd and Harrington each with four.
UMHB returns to action in a home tournament Friday – Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton. UMHB plays at 11:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Friday, followed by 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. matches on Saturday.
