MARSHALL, Texas – Back at home for the first time since October 2019, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball would battled Belhaven University in a doubleheader on Friday night sweeping the Blazers, 3-0, and 3-2. They are now 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the American Southwest Conference.
ETBU swept the opening match in three straight sets (25-23, 25-16, 25-13).
Allie Fennell recorded 12 kills to lead ETBU while
Bailey O'Bannon and
Hope Shipp added nine kills.
Claire Johnson had 19 assists while
Lillie Hill and
Kayla Rainey tallied 19 and 14 digs respectively.
The second game required ETBU to overcome a two-set deficit to win three straight sets (23-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-14, 15-11). Fennel posted 22 kills while O'Bannon recorded 10 of her own. Johnson finished with 25 assists to lead all players. Hill (23 digs), Shipp (17 digs), and Rainey (15 digs) found themselves in double-figures in the digs category.
Game 1: ETBU 3, BU 0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-13)
After starting set one down 2-0, ETBU would grab their first lead with three straight kills. Both teams would then trade points before the Blazers would grab the lead at 11-8. ETBU would manage to cut the lead to one point only for BU to extend their lead. The Tigers finally tied it at 17 and would grab the lead at 20-19. After BU knotted the score at 23, it would be two straight attack errors that led to the Tigers taking the first set 25-23.
Continuing their momentum from the first set win, ETBU jumped out to a 6-1 lead to open the second set. BU cut the lead to 6-4 before ETBU exploded for a 9-3 run to make it a 15-7 lead. The Blazers would bring the score to within 15-12 following a run of five straight points. A kill by Fennell would put a stop and give ETBU momentum as they wound up going on a 10-4 run to end set two with a 25-16 win.
Much like the second set, ETBU built a 6-1 lead to open the third set. Unlike previous sets, BU would not get closer as ETBU took command all throughout the set. Fennell would record five kills in the set while O'Bannon added four. In the end, an O'Bannon kill gave the Tigers a 25-13 win to make it a three-set win.
Game 2: ETBU 3, BU 2 (23-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-14, 15-11)
BU began their run at the start of the game as they would score 11 of the first 14 points of the game. ETBU would cut the lead to 11-6, but BU's lead grew to 18-10. All of a sudden, ETBU went on a 7-1 run to trail 19-17 only for BU to push the lead to 24-20. ETBU would get three straight points to cut it to 24-23. Yet, it was BU who ended the set with a kill to take a 1-0 lead with a 25-23 win.
Despite opening the second set with a kill from
Claire Johnson, the Tigers conceded seven on the next 12 points to trail 7-6. The one-point lead stood at 11-10 before the Tigers grabbed the lead back at 14-13. What was the deciding factor of the second set was a 12-3 BU run to make it a 25-17.
Entering the third set, it became a must-win set for the Tigers. Each side would exchange the first 12 points until ETBU went on a 8-2 run to lead 14-8. BU cut the deficit to 14-10 with two straight points. However, they fell further behind with four attack errors as ETBU would march for six straight points for a 20-10 lead. The Blazers would could only cut it to 22-15 before ETBU secured the final three points for a 25-15 win.
Still with momentum on their side, ETBU would take control of the fourth set from start to finish with 16 kills to BU's five. They cruised to a 7-1 lead at the start. BU would answer with a run to cut the margin to 13-10. However, with Fennell putting up three kills, ETBU pushed the lead to 19-10 with six straight points. O'Bannon would then add two kills back-to-back as the Tigers forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-14 win.
Helped by three attack errors, ETBU led 3-0 at the start of the fifth set. BU would respond with two straight to trail 3-2. With Fennell tallying four of the next seven points by way of kills, the Tigers increased their lead to 8-4, which was cut in half following two straight Blazer points. Leading 10-8, ETBU would start to pull away with
Maddie Scott igniting a 3-1 run to lead 13-9. BU added two kills to trail 13-11 before Fennell finished off the Blazers with two of her own kills for a 15-11 set five win.
ETBU will head out to Pineville, La., in two weeks to battle the Wildcats of Louisiana College. The first game will begin at 4:30 PM.
