BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team added two more wins on the weekend, defeating Methodist University and LeTourneau University in a pair of sweeps to finish the home tournament with a 4-0 record.
UMHB pulled ahead with a 5-0 run in the first set against Methodist, going up by four points. The Cru continued to build on that lead, using a few short series followed by a 7-1 run for a 19-9 margin. UMHB pushed to a 23-10 lead and held on for the 25-14 first-set win.
Ella Nowlin opened the second set serving 10 consecutive points, seven of them aces. UMHB held a double-digit lead until the 21-11 mark when the Monarchs went on a 4-1 run to cut the gap to singles. Methodist added three more points before the Cru added two more to close the set at 25-17.
Methodist fought back in the third, leading by as many as three before the Cru tied it at 9-9 and pulled ahead later with a 5-0 run. The Cru closed the set on a 6-1 run, winning the third set 25-17 and the match 3-0.
Kaysen Miller led the Cru with 11 kills in the match, followed by Natalie Hughes and Baylee Mobley who each recorded six. UMHB hit 38 kills on 96 total attacks, anchored by Kendall Harrington with 25 assists. Nowlin totaled eight service aces as UMHB tallied 14 against Methodist. Angie Garcia was the Cru's defensive leader, recording 15 digs followed by Nowlin with eight and Harrington with seven.
The Cru got off to a hot start in the first set against LeTourneau, jumpstarted by a Kaysen Miller kill to get on the board first. UMHB continued on a five-point streak highlighted by Baylee Mobley who added a service ace and a kill in the run, putting the Cru up 5-0. The YellowJackets cut into the Cru lead at 9-5, but UMHB fought back with a four-point run that included another kill from Mobley and a service ace from Angie Garcia. The YellowJackets were held to single digits until the 23-10 mark. Kendall Harrington and Dravyn Hurd closed out the set with a kill each, sealing the 25-11 set victory.
Set two played evenly throughout, with seven total tied scores. It wasn't until the 14-14 point that the Cru pulled apart with four kills in a row from Kaysen Miller, Dravyn Hurd, and two from Cameron Pesek to give the Cru an 18-14 upper hand. The YellowJackets attempted to catch back up, moving the score to 22-21 with the Crusaders still on top. Two LeTourneau errors and a Harrington kill closed out the set 25-21.
Natalie Hughes opened set three with two kills. LeTourneau pushed back, tying the game at 8-8. The Cru rallied ahead with a six-point streak that included kills from Hughes, Dravyn Hurd, and Baylee Mobley, along with two service aces from Angie Garcia, putting UMHB ahead 14-8. From this point on the Cru had control of the lead, closing out with a 25-18 win to sweep the YellowJackets.
Natalie Hughes led the Cru with nine kills, followed by Baylee Mobley and Kaysen Miller with eight each. Kendall Harrington added 33 assists and three service aces, while Mobley tallied four aces. Ella Nowlin was the leading Crusader defensively, recording 16 assists followed by Mobley with 15.
UMHB returns to action at home on Friday, September 19th for the Gold Out for Pediatric Cancer game at 6:00pm against East Texas Baptist.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Most Valuable Player – Natalie Hughes, UMHB
Kendall Harrington, UMHB
Kaysen Miller, UMHB
Baylee Mobley, UMHB
Jesse Garner, Schreiner
Giana Hilliard, Schreiner
Nora Lockhart, LeTourneau
Maddy Hirneise, LeTourneau
Jamie Holton, Methodist
Gabby Jones, Hardin-Simmons
Rachel Nordt, Hardin-Simmons
Jadyn Hernandez, Hardin-Simmons
Mary Needham, Alverno
