HOUSTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team closed out the University of St. Thomas (Texas) tournament with a pair of wins over Adrian College and Alverno College Saturday in Houston. UMHB improved to 2-1 on the season with the wins.  
 
UMHB took a 10-5 lead in the first set and held the high ground until the 21-21 mark when the Bulldogs tied it on a three-point run. Both teams exchanged points on the next two plays before the Cru pulled ahead for a 24-22 lead. The Bulldogs fought back, scoring three unanswered but UMHB tied it at 25. Adrian surged ahead again, ending the first set with a 27-25 win.
 
Adrian scored the first point of the second set but UMHB moved back on top with five unanswered points. The set played back-and-forth until the 9-6 mark when UMHB scored four consecutive points for a seven-point lead. Adrian responded, pulling within two points and the set played within three points until UMHB closed it on a 6-1 run to seal the 25-20 second set win.
 
The Cru pulled ahead in the third set with a 10-1 run to take a 17-7 lead and cruised to a 25-14 win from there. UMHB took a 9-2 lead in the fourth, going ahead by as many as 10 points and sealing the win 25-15.
 
Natalie Hughes led the Cru with 13 kills, followed by Dravyn Hurd with 11 and Makenzie Weddel with 10. UMHB hit .217 in the contest, led by Kendall Harrington with 41 assists. Defensively, Harrington led the Cru with 19 digs, followed by Peyton Sedlacek and Baylee Mobley with 16 each. Faith Clark added 14 digs while Hughes anchored the Cru with three blocks.
 
UMHB opened the match against Alverno with three consecutive points and played back-and-forth until the 10-7 mark when the Cru scored eight unanswered points to go up 18-7. UMHB extended that lead to 24-10 before the Blaze scored six straight. Addison Yates closed the set, hitting a kill for the 25-16 win.
 
The Cru dominated set two, taking a 9-2 lead and cruising forward with a 25-12 win. UMHB closed the match with a 25-9 win, scoring nine unanswered points to close the set. Allie Thompson led the Cru with 10 kills while Makenzie Weddel added eight. Kendall Harrington led the Cru with 18 assists and four services aces. UMHB hit .333 in the contest with 14 different Crusaders recording kills. Defensively, Peyton Sedlacek led with 11 digs while Dravyn Hurd recorded a team-high four blocks.
 
UMHB returns to action in the East Texas Baptist University Tournament September 5^th – 6^th in Marshall. UMHB will open in a 9 a.m. contest with Concordia University Texas on Friday, September 5^th.