MARSHALL, Texas – In a five-set thrilling match, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team came away with a stunning victory over #13 ranked UT Dallas, 25-22, 12-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-12. This win marks the first time since 2014 that ETBU defeated the Comets and breaks a seven-match losing streak to them.
Natalie Coburn was the kill leader for ETBU with 16 while both
Paige Miller (11 kills, 23 digs) and
Elyse Shaw (31 assists, 16 digs) each had double-doubles.
Allison Sevening also added 13 kills while
Meredith Augsburger had 19 assists and 13 digs for a double-double. Defensively, Katrina Lay posted 19 digs and
Sydney Lopez 18 digs. For UTD, Lauren Schilling was the leader with 17 kills while Caroline Shecterle tallied 31 assists. Briana Tully collected 23 digs to lead the Comets.
ETBU began the first set trading points with UTD before the Comets went up 9-4. That was when ETBU turned around and fought back with a 10-2 run to lead 14-11. UTD would retake the lead with a 5-1 run only to find themselves trading points until it was 19-19. A kill by
Abby Weaver would give ETBU the lead in a 6-2 run that put the Tigers ahead by one set with a 25-21 win.
After receiving a wake-up call, UTD took command of the second set by jumping ahead 6-1 and never looking back. At one point, the Comets were able to get to 20 points before ETBU could reach 10. The Comets finished the set with a 25-12 victory.
Starting off in set three, both teams had runs of three straight points before ETBU took the lead on a kill by Sevening. ETBU would never relinquish the lead despite UTD coming to within one point at 21-20. But a service error by UTD's Caroline Shecterle proved critical as ETBU put away the set with key plays by
Bailey Byas and
Sydney Lopez to make it 25-21.
Set four would be the most competitive set as neither team would be able to build a lead more than four points. Both teams couldn't get a grip of the set until it was 15-15. That was when a kill by Alana Geymer gave UTD a lead that they wouldn't let go. Three times, ETBU was able to cut the lead to one. But tying the score would not come easy as UTD took set five 25-21.
It all came down to the fifth set where both teams continued to exchange possessions. ETBU led 8-6 before the teams swapped sides for the second half of the fifth set. The momentum carried on as ETBU built a lead of 14-9. Despite a last chance effort by UTD, Sevening sealed ETBU's win with a kill for a 15-12 triumph and the match win.
Head coach
Keely Peterson was pleased with the way her team performed. "Well this was a huge win," said Coach Peterson. "We came off a kind of a hard weekend and we knew that we were going to have to pick up our level of play. I was really impressed with how the girls stepped up and we finished, which was huge. Beating Dallas for the first time since 2014, which there were a few girls on that team, was a huge step for them. This is actually setting the tone for the future and really kind of setting something up for us to build upon."
ETBU will head out to San Antonio to compete in the Trinity University Classic. Their first game begins on Friday at 3:00 PM against Southwestern.
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