MARSHALL, Texas - Trailing 2-1 in set one and tied in set two, the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team rallied back to win the first match in five (25-22, 20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13) and the second match in four. ETBU is now 8-5 on the year and 7-5 in the American Southwest Conference.

Bailey O'Bannon and Hope Shipp led with nine kills each for ETBU. Claire Johnson recorded 17 assists while Lillie Hill tallied 17 digs. Adding 15 digs each were Annie Harris and Kaylee Morton while Kayla Rainey finished with 16 digs.
 

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Game 1: ETBU 3, LC 2 (25-22, 20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13)
The Wildcats opened the set up with a 5-2 lead. Behind kills from O'Bannon and Guerrero, ETBU would answer with five straight points to lead 7-5. LC tied the score and would battle ETBU to an 11-11 score. ETBU would grab five of the next six points to lead 17-12 only to have the Wildcats battle back to within 20-19. Ultimately, The Tigers would finish the set with three kills from Shipp, which led to a 25-22 victory. 
 
After leading 2-1 to open the second set, LC would then grab control of the set to lead 9-3. Down 14-7, all ETBU could do was bring the set to within 16-12. The Wildcats would seize their eight points to lead 24-17. Despite three late points by ETBU, the Wildcats sealed their first set win at 25-20.
 
With both teams scoring their first two points after four serves in set three, LC would ride six straight points to lead 8-2. While ETBU would make it 9-5, the Wildcats would once again build their lead to nine, 15-6. All of a sudden, with key service aces from Johnson and Shipp, ETBU would storm back on a 12-2 run to grab their first lead of the set at 18-17. That lead would be short-lived as LC clawed back with eight of the final 11 points to finish 25-21 winners. 
 
ETBU grabbed a slight 3-2 lead early in set four. But five straight LC points pushed their lead to 7-3. Despite giving up two points to have their lead cut in half, the Wildcats would still keep their distance as they would get themselves up 16-11. That was when the Tigers emerged from their slump as they would battle back with help from eight attack errors by LC to tie at 20. ETBU then took the lead behind a pair of kills from Reeve on their way to a 25-22 setting up the fifth set.
 
Although ETBU started the fifth set with two points, the Wildcats would use a 6-1 run to lead 6-3. ETBU battled back to even the score at 10 before a run of three straight gave the Tigers a 13-10 lead. LC wouldn't back down and tied the score at 13 before ETBU finished the match with two straight points for a 15-13 victory.
 

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Game 2: ETBU 3, LC 1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 25-16)
 Locked in another back and forth battle with the Wildcats, ETBU was able to overcome a 1-1 set tie and defeat LC 3-1 to complete the sweep.
 
Fennell led the effort in the second game, recording a team-high 11 kills. Harris finished the night with 10 kills of her own in the win. Lillie Hill chipped in 17 digs for the second straight game, while both Claire Johnson and Kaylee Morton combined for 31 assists. Reeve managed another all-around effort with five kills and 14 digs. 
 
Set one saw the Tigers jump out to a 5-1 advantage after a kill by Reeves and an attack error by LC. The Wildcats would outscore ETBU 5-2 to draw to within one (7-6) over the next several exchanges. ETBU would build a four-point margin (12-8) until LC would go on to outscore ETBU 9-4 to take the 17-16 lead down the stretch. In spite of some resilient play by the road team, the Tigers would hold on to win the opening set 25-23. 
 
After dropping set two, ETBU would bounce back and win a third straight neck and neck contest. Set four would see the Tigers carry that momentum all the way to the 25-16 victory, leading to the 2-0 sweep of LC. 
 
ETBU will return to Ornelas Gymnasium for a rematch with the University of Texas-Dallas on Tuesday, March 23. The double-header is set for a 4:30 p.m. start time.