SEGUIN, Texas - Down two sets to none, the East Texas Baptist University Volleyball team pulled of an improbable comeback by beating Texas Lutheran University in their last three sets to win by scores of 19-25, 13-25, 25-16, 25-22, and 15-11. ETBU improves to 9-12 on the season with the win.

Mallory Sanders and Kayla Green led the way for ETBU with double-doubles each. Sanders had 13 kills and 10 digs while Green added 11 digs and 25 assists. Morgan Rupp had double-digit numbers with 24 digs while Lauren Jarrell had 10 digs. Another strong performance came from Sydney Lopez, who had 12 kills. For TLU, Kristin Fording had a double-double with 14 kills and 23 digs while Makenzie Griffin had 14 kills as well. Mathis Popelsky was second on the Bulldogs in digs with 21 while Cadie Mae Vanecek had 10 digs. 

As a team, ETBU had a .111 hitting percentage with their best set being the fifth set in which they had a .333 hitting percentage to go along with six blocks. For TLU, they had a .123 hitting percentage in addition to their 10 blocks.

ETBU jump out of the gate in the first set with a 6-3 lead following a kill by Alexis Contos. But after answering with a 4-1 run to tie it at 7, the Bulldogs and Tigers exchanged points until the score was 13-13 when TLU went on an 8-0 run for a 21-13 lead. ETBU cut the deficit to four points twice at 21-17 and 22-18 before a 3-1 run by the Bulldogs gave TLU a 1-0 lead in sets. 

After trading the first four points of set two, TLU took the lead with the fifth point of the set that they would never relinquish. The closest ETBU would make the set was 8-5, but the Bulldogs gained momentum as they would build an 11-3 run to make the score 19-8. ETBU could only cut the lead to seven at 19-12 before TLU finished the set with a 6-1 run to win 25-13 and go up two sets to none. 

With their backs to the wall, ETBU and TLU once again engage in a duel as the two teams would exchange points to make the score tied at 7. A mistake by TLU would give ETBU a lead in which they would never relinquish. ETBU would build their largest lead of the set at seven points with kills from Lopez, Britni Mosher, and Paige Miller. A four point deficit was all the Bulldogs would get close to as ETBU added to their lead to finish the third set with a nine point win at 25-16.

Set four didn't start off well for ETBU as TLU built leads of 6-3, and 8-5. TLU would build their largest lead to 11-6 putting pressure on ETBU. Thanks to a combined block by Lopez and Mosher and a kill by Miller, ETBU charged right back into the game as they went on an 11-2 run. Keying this run was a kill by Rupp and a service ace by Jarrell. By this point, the score was 17-13 before TLU cut the lead to one point twice before tying the game at 20. The Bulldogs would last lead the set at 22-21 before errors gave ETBU a 24-22 lead. A kill by Sanders gave ETBU the win and a 2-2 in the match.

For the second straight match, ETBU was in the fifth set, which started when TLU raced to a 4-2 lead. ETBU would tie it on a kill by Sanders and the teams traded points. It was Rupp's service ace that would prove to be the deciding point as ETBU took the lead, which they never let go of. Although TLU would cut the lead to 12-11, a service error by the Bulldogs, a kill by Miller, and a service ace by Sanders finished off a remarkable come from behind win. 

ETBU will play their second game of the tournament against Birmingham-Southern tomorrow at 4:00 pm.