BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team improved to 12-0 with a pair of wins Friday at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.  The Cru earned a 3-0 win over Hendrix College before beating University of Dallas in four sets.
 
UMHB opened the day with a sweep over Hendrix College. The match played point-for-point until the 7-7 mark when UMHB went on a five-point run to go ahead 12-7. The Cru held at least a four-point lead for the duration of the set, finishing off the Warriors with a 25-15 first-set win. Hendrix led just once in the second set with UMHB using a four-point series to take the high ground and holding on for the 25-17 win. The Cru tallied 12 kills in the set with the Warriors recording just seven. Hendrix jumped ahead early in the third but UMHB counteracted the attack, coming back for a 25-20 win.
 
Natalie Hughes led the Cru with eight kills while Baylee Mobley added six. Five other Crusaders all recorded multiple kills en route to a team-total 33. Caitlyn Ellenburg anchored the offense with 20 assists, followed by Avery Gray with 10. UMHB totaled 55 digs in the match with Mobley leading at 11 and Peyton Sedlacek adding nine.
 
The Cru opened the second match at a deficit but quickly cruised to a substantial lead. UMHB led by as many as seven early in the set and maintained at least a four-point margin to earn the 25-17 win. Dallas responded in the second, taking a 5-1 lead holding the high ground. UMHB pulled within three at the 13-10 and cut the gap to one at 19-18. Dallas answered with a five-point series and sustained the lead for a 25-21 win. Set three played within three points until the 12-12 mark when a kill by Dravyn Hurd sparked a five-point run. Dallas pulled within three but UMHB held on for the 25-19 win.
 
Dallas opened with three consecutive points before the Cru responded with a seven-point run. UMHB held the lead until the 10-13 mark before Dallas went on a 5-1 run to take a 15-14 lead. The set with back-to-back from there before the Cru finished off Dallas with a 4-1 run. Raylee Schaffner and Natalie Hughes hit back-to-back kills before Hughes, Kendall Harrington and Schaffner teamed up for back-to-back blocks to seal the set 25-22.
 
Hurd led the Cru with 13 kills while Schaffner added eight. UMHB totaled 52 kills in the matching, hitting .259. Caitlyn Ellenburg led UMHB with 20 total assists while Harrington added 11. Faith Clark was the Cru's defensive leader, totaling 20 digs followed by Baylee Mobley with 17 and Peyton Sedlacek with 14. UMHB also totaled seven blocks in the match, led by Hurd with four.
 
UMHB returns to action in two more home matches on Saturday, September 14^th. The Cru faces off against St. Thomas (Texas) at 2:00 p.m. before a 7 p.m. contest against Southwestern University