COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – In two tough matches on the final day of the Colorado College Classic, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team fell to Nebraska Wesleyan in five sets and to #3 Colorado College in three sets. ETBU is now 1-3 on the year and will return home to face both Centenary College and Wiley College on Tuesday, Sept. 4 in their home opener.
ETBU was led on offense by
Bailey Byas,
Sydney Lopez and
Paige Miller who collected 17, 16 and 13 kills in the first match.
Elyse Shaw and
Meredith Augsburger combined for 50 assists, managing 34 and 16, respectively.
Lizeth Flores and
Annie Harris both recorded two blocks while Miller put up 19 digs and
Julia De Los Santos added 16 in the competitive match.
The first set against Nebraska Wesleyan saw Miller get the Tigers on the board first with a kill off of the assist by Shaw. An attack error and a kill by Flores gave ETBU the early 3-0 advantage. But NWU would rattle off five straight points to take the lead at 5-3. A kill by
Carley Boswell capped off a 4-2 spurt, putting ETBU back on top by one, 7-6.
The set would go back and forth down the stretch, with another Flores kill tying the game at 22-22. NWU went on top 23-22, but Lopez responded with a kill that knotted the game at 23-23. NWU closed out the set scoring on back-to-back possessions to win 25-23.
ETBU would bounce back, winning the second set by a score of 25-15. The third set put ETBU in the driver's seat after a kill by Byas increased the score to 25-23 for the narrow set win. In spite of the momentum shift, NWU won the next two sets, 25-22, and 15-9 taking the match 3-2 in the first contest of the day.
ETBU started the second match tied with #3 Colorado College after Byas produced another score to put the game at 5-5. CC would take a 10-8 lead but a rare kill by Augsburger brought the team to within one, 10-9.
CC would spark a 15-6 run to take the set win at 25-15. CC went on to take the next to sets, 25-14, and 25-16, completing the win.
Lopez led ETBU in the second match with seven kills, while Byas added six. Shaw managed 14 assists, and De Los Santos led the defensive effort with 13 digs.
The Tigers are set to take on Centenary College and Wiley College at Ornelas Gymnasium. The first match is set to tip-off at 4:30 p.m.
