MARSHALL, Texas – Taking on one of the top teams in the American Southwest Conference West Division, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team pushed the Concordia University-Texas Tornados in four sets before dropping the match 3-1. ETBU drops to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in ASC East play.

Annie Harris led the offensive attack, racking up a team-high eight kills. Meredith Augsburger led the effort in assists, dishing out 14 helpers. Defensively, Lizeth Flores tallied four blocks and Savannah Stanley added 18 digs. Trystin Massey led the Tornados with 14 kills.

The Tornados stormed out of the gate with a 13-6 advantage early in the first set, until ETBU embarked on a 9-0 spurt sparked by a kill by Carley Boswell. Boswell found herself on the end of the final three plays of the run, notching a kill to score the next three points to square the set at 13-13. A service ace by Stanley and an attack error by the Tornados gave the Tigers the 15-13 advantage midway through the opening set. CTX responded over the next few exchanges, closing out the set with a 12-5 run capped off by kill by Marjani Myles and taking the 25-20 set win.

The opening plays of the second set would be a back and forth affair as both the Tigers and the Tornados would have the game squared at 2-2 after another kill by Myles. CTX would lead 4-2 until a kill by Allie Fennell off the assists by Cassidy Zellmer cut into the two- point deficit. Bailey Byas and Annie Harris picked up back-to-back kills to tie the game at 5-5. The Tornados managed a 4-0 run to go on top 9-5. The Tigers trailed 11-7 closing in on the midway point of the set, until ETBU sparked a 5-0 spurt of their own to take the lead in the set, at 12-11. The Tornados briefly regained the lead on the next two plays (13-12) but ETBU would close out the second set with a 13-8 scoring run that was capped off by a kill by Flores for the 25-21 edge.

ETBU entered the third set scoring the first three points behind kills by Flores and Harris and a service error by CTX (3-0). The Tigers held a 9-4 lead, until a 3-0 spurt by the Tornados narrowed the gap to two, at 9-7. ETBU led for much of the third set until Concordia rattled off a 14-4 run, winning the third set 25-18.

In spite of strong play in the fourth set, ETBU was unable to force a fifth and deciding meeting in the fifth, falling to CTX 25-15.

ETBU will continue their ASC East Division play with a match against Belhaven University on Tuesday, Oct. 1 in Jackson, Miss.