SHERMAN, Texas – Taking two matches on the first day of play at the Austin College Invitational, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team tipped No. 23-ranked Southwestern University (Texas) in five sets and then had a four-set win over the University of Dallas. ETBU is now 5-1 on the year and will have two more matches on Saturday in Sherman.

It took all five sets vs. #23 Southwestern for the win. ETBU jumped out to a two-set lead, 25-17, 25-19, before the Pirates won the next two sets 25-20 and 25-20. ETBU held onto the final set, 15-13, for the upset win. It is only the second time in program history that ETBU has defeated a nationally ranked opponent with the first last year over Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Against Southwestern, ETBU's Mallory Sanders finished with 23 kills on 63 swings and added 13 digs. Reighanna Guzman contributed 36 assists and 13 digs, while Bailee Moore hit .310 with a dozen kills on 29 attempts and also had three total blocks. Adaeze Elonu closed out the action with 21 kills and a .385 attacking percentage on 39 swings and also chipped in six total blocks.

Morgan Rupp had 14 digs, and Alexis Zolan finished with 12 assists and 11 digs. Hannah Jones contributed five assists, a pair of service aces and 20 digs.

Overall ETBU hit .215 as a team and concluded the match with 9.0 blocks.

For Southwestern, Kate Mitchell finished with a .300 attacking percentage and 16 kills on 40 attempts. She also chipped in five total blocks. Kaitlyn Foster had 13 kills on 46 attacks and also contributed seven assists and 15 digs. Nikki Welch totaled 22 assists and nine digs, while Jamison Duck had 10 kills on 29 swings as well as five digs.

In all, Southwestern hit .204 and finished the match with 11.0 blocks.

The first set saw ETBU hit a .308 while Southwestern had a .129 attacking percentage. In the opening set alone, Sanders spiked seven kills, while Elonu contributed another five herself. With ETBU ahead by a 13-6 margin, they would late move ahead by as many as a dozen points before securing the set win, 25-17, on a solo block by Elonu.

In set two, ETBU burst out to a 7-0 lead with Hannah Jones serving seven-consecutive times before a Southwestern kill finally broke the shutout streak at 7-1. Southwestern went on to draw within three points after an ETBU attacking error made the score 19-16, but ETBU secured six-of-nine points, including a set-securing kill by Adaeze Elonu, to nab a 25-19 win and a 2-0 upper hand.

The third set was tied up as late as 14-14, but five different Southwestern players contributed multiple kills to propel them to a 25-20 victory and narrowed their deficit to 2-1. Foster tallied the decisive kill for Southwestern.

In set four, Southwestern continued to rally and with the score knotted at 14-14 yet again, they notched a 25-20 set win to force a fifth set. A block assist by Southwestern's Olivia Drummond and Mitchell gave them the decisive point. The fourth set closed with Southwestern hitting .200, and ETBU hitting .073 with nine attack errors on 41 attempts.

The fifth and final set of the afternoon moved to a 12-12 tie late before ETBU grabbed three-of-four points to claim the decisive set, 15-13. Sanders contributed the match-clinching kill with Guzman earning an assist on the play.

ETBU's night match paired them off against Dallas, and lasted four sets as they won by a 3-1 final, 25-13, 25-23, 23-25 and 27-25.

By the conclusion of the match, ETBU hit .306 as a team and had 7.5 blocks.

ETBU's Sanders finished the match with 24 kills on 59 swings for a .356 attack percentage. She also contributed 15 digs. Allison Sevening had 16 assists, while Zolan added 25 assists and 11 digs. Elonu totaled 14 kills on 28 attempts for a .393 attacking percentage and also had six total blocks.

For Dallas, three players finished with at least 10 kills, led by Jaime Birzer's 16. Elizabeth Smith had a match-best 39 assists, and Lexi Noriega chipped in 10 kills, five service aces and 13 digs.

ETBU continues into the second and final day of the event on Saturday, playing St. Gregory's University (Okla.) at 10 a.m. and then host Austin College (Texas) for a noontime match.