CONWAY, Ark. – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball defeated Rhodes College in a five-set match on Sunday morning, closing out the Hendrix Invitational at 3-0. The Cru's record rises to 16-1 on the season and remains 2-0 in conference play.
 
The first set began as a back-and-forth battle until the Lynx jumped ahead with three service aces in a row, making the score 8-4. It didn't take long for the Cru to respond with a service ace from Kendall Harrington, shortly followed by back-to-back kills from Raylee Schaffner and Cameron Pesek to make it 15-13 in UMHB's favor. Despite the hard-fought battle, Rhodes answered back to win the set 25-23.
 
With Baylee Mobley at the service line, the Cru took advantage of Lynx attack errors and went on a five-point run early in the second set. Two service aces from Mobley and a kill from Cameron Pesek allowed UMHB to jump ahead 10-4. Rhodes closed the gap making it 19-17, but Mobley and Pesek responded with one kill each to raise the lead. The set ended in a kill from Dravyn Hurd off an assist from Caitlyn Ellenburg to give UMHB the 25-20 win. Set three stayed within a three-point differential until the final points when Mobley tallied two kills along with one from Hurd, sealing the 25-20 win for the Cru.
 
Set four began strong with kills from Harrington and Hughes. The set played evenly from there until the Cru went on a four-point run at the 9-8 mark to gain a three-point margin, the largest difference reached in the set. UMHB went up 24-21 towards the end of the set but Rhodes responded with two points to force a Cru timeout. This resulted in a tied game at 25, then kills from both sides of the net made it 26. The Lynx answered with a comeback to win the set 28-26, extending the match to a fifth set.
 
The Cru took the early lead in the fifth set with a service ace from Peyton Sedlacek, back-to-back kills from Hughes and a kill from Harrington, starting off 5-0. Rhodes strung together a four-point rally, making it a 5-4 game. Later in the set, a kill from Addison Yates along with a service ace from Mobley brought the Cru to a three-point lead, 10-7. The game ended on a kill from Hughes, securing the Cru win.
 
Natalie Hughes led the Cru offensively with 21 kills and 23 total points scored. Baylee Mobley followed with 16 kills, along with Dravyn Hurd who tallied 10. Kendall Harrington led with 30 assists while Caitlyn Ellenburg added 27 on the day, with Caiden Lasala leading defensively tallying 34 digs. UMHB had 71 kills in total with a .251 attacking percentage as three Crusaders each added three service aces.
 
UMHB returns to action Friday, September 27^th at 6:00 PM in Marshall for a conference match against LeTourneau.