RICHARDSON, Texas – For the first time since 2013, East Texas Baptist University will be playing for the American Southwest Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship. ETBU held off a late rally by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor to come away with the five-set victory, 13-25, 25-15, 25-20, 22-25, 15-10. ETBU is now 20-6 on the year reaching the 20+ win plateau for the first time since 2015.
 
"I am so incredibly proud of our team. Mary Hardin-Baylor is a great program and that was a really gritty win for us. We really had to battle and fight and earn everything that we did. I am just incredibly proud of that fight they showed and we are ready to go play in the championship tomorrow," said head coach Mallory Matthews.
 
Three players had double figures in kills as Avery Reid led the way with 26 kills. Graycee Mosley followed with a double-double adding 20 kills and 26 digs while Kristin Kruger added 17 kills. Lexi Moody recorded 58 assists with seven digs as McKenzie Mansell had 24 digs and Lillie Hill 23 digs. Hannah Perry led with six blocks.
 
Coming down to the fifth set, ETBU led the entire way. Jumping out to a 3-0 lead on a kill by Reid, an Alexis Mack and Kruger block followed by a Kruger kill, ETBU showed they were in control and never lost the lead. Two more Reid kills put ETBU up, 5-1, and then a block by Mosley and Mack made it 10-8. UMHB did come within one, 10-9, but ETBU scored the next two points on a Mosley kill and service ace. UMHB won the next point to make it, 12-10, but ETBU scored the final three points. Reid started the three-point stretch with kill that followed with a Mosley kill making it 14-10. The final point came on a UMHB attack on the right side that was blocked down by both Perry and Reid as ETBU took the match, 3-2.
 
The match started in favor of UMHB taking set one, 25-13. Tied at four, UMHB scored four straight points for the 8-4 advantage. They kept the lead the rest of the way. ETBU came within two, 11-9, on a Kruger kill. At 16-13, after a Mosley kill to pull back to within three, UMHB scored the next nine points for the 25-13 set one win.
 
ETBU responded coming out on fire in set two with a 6-0 lead and didn't look back leading the entire way. Two kills by Reid, two UMHB attack errors, a service ace by Hill, and a kill by Kruger gave ETBU the 6-0 lead. UMHB did come within two, 8-6, and, 10-8. At 12-9, after an UMHB kill, ETBU scored the next seven points to go up, 19-9. In the run, Mosley had a service ace while Reid and Kruger both had kills and Mack and Kruger combined for a block. UMHB pulled to within five, 20-15, but ETBU scored the final five points on three UMHB attack errors, on which was a block by Moody and Perry, and a Reid kill for the 25-15 win.
 
It was a battle in set three as UMHB went up, 5-2. ETBU came back to tie it at seven on a Mosley kill. UMHB then went up 13-10 before another Mosley kill tied the game at 15. UMHB took an 18-16 lead only to see ETBU score three straight points off of Kruger kills, 19-18. Tied at 19, ETBU scored six of the next seven points for the 25-20 win as Reid had two kills and Kruger one.
 
Set four mirrored set three but went to UMHB, 25-22. ETBU took a 4-0 lead and then went up 10-8 on a UMHB service error. The two teams traded points and tied at 11. There were six ties after that ending at 19-19. UMHB went up, 21-19, and 22-21. Mosley kept ETBU within one, 23-22, but two straight ETBU attack errors made it 25-22 as the match went to the fifth set.
 
ETBU will take on the University of Texas Dallas at 2:00 p.m. in the championship match.