MARSHALL, Texas - Remaining undefeated in the American Southwest Conference, East Texas Baptist University swept the volleyball season series over the University of Texas Dallas in four sets, 22-25, 25-12, 25-18, 25-12. This is the first time ETBU has won two straight over UTD since 2011-12 and the first season sweep of the series since 2008. Now on a 13-game winning streak, the Tigers are 15-2 overall and 8-0 in the ASC.Â
With 51 kills, ETBU held a .227 hitting percentage, going 12-for-24 in set four.
Graycee Mosley led the team with 20 kills and a .241 hitting percentage, making it a double-double with 11 digs.
Avery Reid followed with 14 kills, hitting .226, as well as putting up seven service aces.
Sydney Temple recorded 21 assists, closely followed by
Lexi Moody with 19 assists.
Lillie Hill had 16 digs, while
McKenzie Mansell had 13.
Grace Williamson finished with four total blocks. Â
The match began with set one going neck-to-neck with 10 tied scores and seven lead changes. Reid opened the game with a kill from Temple, 1-0. UTD followed by tying the score at one. The game stayed tied until the Comets had a run, taking the lead 9-4.
Anita Hancock ended the run with a kill, 9-5. Lowering the UTD lead to one point was a kill by Williamson, 14-13. The Tigers tied the game at 16 with a kill from Hancock from Temple. Both teams kept it close with six more ties but the Comets ended the set with a 25-22 win.Â
ETBU made a strong comeback in the second set, opening with a 15-1 run, consisting of kills by Mosley and Williamson, block assists by Perry, Williamson, and Mosley, and two service aces by Reid. UTD put a run together, lowering the Tiger lead to eight, 16-8. Reid and Mosley each put up two kills, all from Moody, maintaining the lead and pushing it back to double digits, 22-9. A kill by Reid put the set at set point as Williamson ended set two on a kill, 25-12, to tie the match at one set each. Â
The third set began close with three ties, but a kill by Mosley put ETBU in front, 4-3. Mansell recorded a service ace to give the Tigers a two-point advantage, 5-3. The Comets tied the score at seven, this being the last time ETBU did not hold a lead. Hancock and Williamson built a wall at the net, giving ETBU a four-point lead, 11-7. Temple played great offensively, setting Mosley and Perry up for back-to-back kills and a five-point lead, 17-12. UTD played hard, lowered the ETBU lead to two, 20-18. That sent the Tigers on a 5-0 run to take the set 25-18 with kills by Reid, Moody, and Williamson.
In the fourth and final set of the match, ETBU put up a strong offense with a .417 hitting percentage. Temple was the first to put a point on the board with a service ace, followed by a block by Williamson and Reid, giving ETBU the 2-0 lead. The lead only grew larger with an ETBU run consisting of kills by Reid and Perry, back-to-back aces by Reid, and a solo block by Williamson to make it, 8-1. A strategic tip by Moody set the score at, 12-6. The Tigers took a ten-point lead after another ace by Reid, 19-9. The Comets would lower the lead to seven, 19-12, pushing ETBU into the final run of the game. After two kills by Mosley, Hill put up three aces, ending the final set, 25-12.Â
ETBU will play again on Friday, October 13th, at 6:00 pm in Belton, Texas, facing the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor for the second time this season.
