MARSHALL, Texas – After completing a three-game home stretch going 2-1, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team will hit the road this weekend traveling to Tyler to compete in their final American Southwest Conference Crossover. They will take on Howard Payne University, Concordia University-Texas, and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Last week, ETBU fell to the University of Texas Dallas losing in three straight sets. But thanks to back-to-back wins against Belhaven (3-2) and Louisiana College (3-0), they finds themselves at 11-10 overall and 5-5 in the ASC East. In the win against BU, four players compiled double-doubles, including Natalie Coburn (13 kills, 12 digs), Paige Miller (12 kills, 20 digs), Elyse Shaw (29 assists, 11 digs), and Cassidy Zellmer (26 assists, 18 digs). Coburn nearly pulled off a second straight double-double against LC when she had nine digs to go with 14 kills while Shaw and Zellmer had 19 assists each.

The previous win against LC was special as it was Senior Day. As head coach Keely Peterson explains, winning on this day meant so much more than just a win to help their conference record. "The girls always want to win for their seniors and show how much they appreciate them," said Peterson. "There's always extra momentum on Senior Night. It was nice to see how our girls came together and played. All of the seniors, all five of them, played really well. I was impressed with them all."

Sydney Lopez leads ETBU in kills with 187 while Bailey Byas is second with 153. Shaw remains ETBU's leader in assists with 408 just as Julia De Los Santos has 245 digs. Meanwhile, Annie Harris is the top blocker with 41.

ETBU's first game will be against HPU. The Yellow Jackets are currently 2-16 overall while maintaining a 1-10 ASC West record. Their last win came on September 11^th when they swept Sul Ross State University. ETBU is 12-2 in head-to-head matchups vs. HPU.

Next, the Tigers will face CTX. The Tornados bring a 12-8 overall record and are currently 6-3 in the ASC West fresh off a sweep against Schreiner University in non-conference play. ETBU took on CTX in three matches last year and fell in all three. Currently, the Tigers maintain a 13-12 edge over CTX.

The most challenging of the opponents for ETBU this week is UMHB, who currently leads the ASC West Division with a 10-0 record and is 16-1 overall. The one edge ETBU does bring to this matchup is a 21-11 overall record against UMHB in spite of a loss to UMHB last year.

Friday's doubleheader for ETBU against HPU and CTX takes place 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM while Saturday's finale vs. UMHB will be at 12:00 PM.