MARSHALL, Texas – It will be the 21
st time that East Texas Baptist University will appear in the American Southwest Conference Tournament on Friday in Belton, Texas. The 21 appearances leads the ASC and all programs as ETBU seeks their fourth ASC Tournament Championship in program history.
ETBU is the no. 2 seed after tying for their first ASC regular season championship. It is the fifth time that ETBU has tied for or win the regular season division/conference championship. Because of the tiebreaker with Mary Hardin-Baylor, ETBU will be the no. 2 seed as they head to Belton, Texas. The Tigers will face no. 6 seed Howard Payne University at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night after the YellowJackets upset no. 3 seed Texas Dallas, 3-1. It is HPU's third appearance in the ASC Tournament.
The two teams last meet in the ASC Tournament in 2016 in Belton, Texas, for the double elimination tournament. It was an elimination match that went five-sets in which ETBU won, 25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 20-25, 15-10. The two teams have met 31 times as ETBU leads the series, 29-2. It will only be the second time that they have seen each other in the ASC Tournament.
ETBU last won the ASC Tournament in 2003 when they won their third straight (2001, 2002, 2003). Since that time, they have played in three more ASC Championships but come up shy of a championship in 2008, 2013, and 2022.
Bringing a 23-3 record and an eight-match win streak into the tournament, ETBU has now produced back-to-back 20+ win seasons for the first time since 2008 and 2009. This season also brought a program record 13-match win streak breaking the previous record of 12 set in 2002.
The run for a championship begins on Friday night in Belton, Texas, at 7:30 p.m.
NOTES ON ETBU
ETBU in ASC Tournament
This will be ETBU's 21
st appearance in the ASC Tournament which leads all programs. ETBU is 25-23 in their 20 appearances winning three ASC Championships and is making their 11
th straight appearance. ETBU missed the ASC Tournament in 2011 after making 10 straight tournaments.
ETBU hosted the tournament in 2001 and has played for six ASC Championships. Last year, ETBU went 2-1 falling in the ASC Championship match to Texas Dallas, 3-0.
ETBU in ASC - Belton
ETBU has played in Belton, Texas, in five ASC Tournaments with the last one coming in the 2021 fall season. Overall, ETBU is 5-7 last winning a match there in 2016 when it was the double elimination tournament. In 2018, 2021 spring, and 2021 fall tournaments, ETBU lost in their first matches they played.
2014 – ETBU (#2 East Division) | 2-2
N 6 Second Round UT Dallas def. East Texas Baptist; 25-20, 25-20, 25-21
N7 Elimination East Texas Baptist def. Concordia Texas; 25-20, 25-21, 25-21
N 7 Quarterfinal East Texas Baptist def. Hardin-Simmons; 25-14, 25-18, 19-25, 27-25
N 7 Semifinal UT Dallas def. East Texas Baptist; 25-18, 25-14, 25-17
2016 – ETBU (#3 East Division) | 3-2
N 3 First Round East Texas Baptist def. Hardin-Simmons; 25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 29-27
N 3 Second Round UT Dallas def. East Texas Baptist; 25-19, 25-19, 25-17
N 4 Elimination East Texas Baptist def. Howard Payne; 25-18, 25-16, 20-25, 20-25, 15-
N 4 Quarterfinal East Texas Baptist def. Hardin-Simmons; 16-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-13
N 5 Semifinal UT Dallas def. East Texas Baptist; 25-23, 25-13, 25-18
2018 – ETBU (#3 East Division) | 0-1
N 1 First Round McMurry def. East Texas Baptist; 25-21, 20-15, 25-13, 25-19
2021 Spring – ETBU (#3 East Division) | 0-1
April 9 Quarterfinal Concordia Texas def. East Texas Baptist 25-13, 25-18, 25-20
2021 Fall – ETBU (#4 seed) | 0-1
N4 Quarterfinal Sul Ross State def. East Texas Baptist 25-19, 26-24, 25-13
ETBU in ASC Championships
Winning three ASC Championships, ETBU has played in six championship matches. ETBU won three-straight tournaments from 2001 to 2003. They defeated Austin College in all three championship matches to reach the NCAA Tournament.
ETBU has played in three championship matches since 2003 in 2008, 2013, and 2022.
ASC Championship Matches
2001: N 3 - East Texas Baptist def. Austin, 30-23, 30-24, 30-28 (3-0)
2002: N 9 - East Texas Baptist def. Austin, 30-27, 30-26, 30-22 (3-0)
2003: N 8 - East Texas Baptist def. Austin, 29-31, 30-21, 30-17, 28-30, 15-13 (3-2)
2008: N 8 - UT Dallas def. East Texas Baptist, 16-25, 25-12, 25-16, 26-24 (3-0)
2013: N 9 - East Texas Baptist def. Hardin-Simmons, 25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 25-22 (3-1)
N 9 - Hardin-Simmons def. East Texas Baptist, 25-21, 25-16, 15-25, 26-24 (3-1)
Double Elimination Tournament
2022: N 5 – UT Dallas def. East Texas Baptist, 25-17, 25-22, 25-19 (3-0)
Coach Matthews in ASC Tournament
ETBU head coach Mallory Matthews will coach in her fifth ASC Championship Tournament. It will be her second time for ETBU as she took LeTourneau University to three ASC Tournament appearances in 2019 and spring and fall 2021. She is 4-4 overall going 2-3 at LeTourneau and 2-1 last year for ETBU. In her first season at LeTourneau in fall 2019, she guided the Yellow Jackets to their first ever ASC Tournament in program history.
In her first year at ETBU in 2022, she led ETBU to the championship game vs. Texas Dallas. ETBU won 3-0 in the first round over Concordia Texas and then upset Mary Hardin-Baylor, 3-2, to advance to the championship match. ETBU then fell to the Comets, 3-0.
ETBU in Belton
Since 2000, ETBU has played 26 times in Belton, Texas, and won just 10 matches. In the ASC Tournament, ETBU is 5-7 in Belton and against Mary Hardin-Baylor they are 5-9. ETBU last won a match in Belton in 2016 in the ASC Tournament. Their last win in regular season came in 2009 with a 3-1 win over UMHB. Overall, ETBU is 10-16 playing in Belton, Texas, vs. UMHB and in the ASC Tournament.
In ASC Tournament: 5-7
vs. UMHB: 5-9
Double-Doubles
ETBU has produced five players with double-doubles this year in their matches. Grayce Mosley leads the way with 17 double-doubles. She has 15 double-doubles in the last 19 matches with a seven-match and a six-match streak of double-doubles.
Avery Reid follows with four double-doubles while Mackenzie Mansell has two. Both
Lexi Moody and
Sydney Temple have one double-double.
Graycee Mosley: 17
10 digs, 15 kills vs. Greenville (Sept. 1)
12 digs, 15 kills vs. Covenant (Sept. 1)
11 digs, 20 kills vs. Dallas (Sept. 9)
12 digs, 28 kills at UTD (Sept. 12)
12 digs, 11 kills vs. Concordia Texas (Sept. 15)
17 digs, 32 kills vs. UMHB (Sept. 16)
10 digs, 19 kills vs. LeTourneau (Sept. 19)
11 digs, 17 kills at Sul Ross State (Sept. 29)
11 digs, 16 kills at Howard Payne (Sept. 30)
11 digs, 14 kills at Hardin-Simmons (Oct. 7)
11 digs, 20 kills vs. UTD (Oct. 10)
18 digs, 25 kills at LeTourneau (Oct. 17)
18 digs, 22 kills vs. Southwestern (Oct. 20)
21 digs, 19 kills at Austin College (Oct. 24)
11 digs, 15 kills vs. Howard Payne (Oct. 27)
10 digs, 23 kills vs. Sul Ross State (Oct. 28)
16 digs, 21 kills vs. Hardin-Simmons (Nov. 3)
Avery Reid: 4
10 digs, 11 kills vs. Greenville (Sept. 1)
10 digs, 15 kills vs. Whitman (Sept. 8)
10 digs, 19 kills vs. Hardin-Simmons (Oct. 7)
10 digs, 18 kills vs. Southwestern (Oct. 20)
McKenzie Mansell: 2
10 digs, 11 assists vs. LeTourneau (Oct. 17)
12 digs, 11 assists vs. Southwestern (Oct. 20)
Lexi Moody: 1
11 digs, 16 assists vs. St. Thomas (Sept. 9)
Sydney Temple: 1
10 digs, 18 assists at UMHB (Oct. 13)
ASC Regular Season Champions (or East Division)
By tying for the 2023 American Southwest Conference regular season championship, ETBU has now won five regular season/East Division championships. It is the first time in program history that ETBU has won a regular season championship since the ASC went back to one division in 2021. The ASC had one division in 2013 and 2014 and then split back into divisions from 2015 to 2020. Prior to 2013, there were also divisions.
ETBU won the ASC East Division outright in 2001, 2002, and tied with UTD in 2006 and 2008. This season, ETBU tied with Mary Hardin-Baylor for the regular season championship at 13-1. UMHB won the right to host the ASC Championship Tournament in the tiebreakers.
2001: 12-2
2002: 14-0
2006: 15-2* (UTD)
2008: 14-3* (UTD)
2023: 14-1* (UMHB)
*co-champions
Win Streaks
ETBU set a program record for win streaks for consecutive wins at 13. This broke the record of 12 straight wins in 2002 from October 1 through October 17. The new record started on September 8 and went through October 10. It started with a 3-0 over Hendrix College with the 13
th straight win coming against Texas Dallas in Ornelas Gym. In that run, eight of the 13 wins were sweeps.
In Ornelas Gym, ETBU currently has a 15-match win streak. This year they were 13-0 adding their last two wins in Ornelas last year pushing the streak to 15. The longest win streak in Ornelas Gym is 18 straight from 2012 through 2014. ETBU went 14-0 at home in 2014 with only four home matches in 2013 and won their last home match in 2012.
ETBU in the ASC/NCAA Standings
It has been a great year in statistics for ETBU. They lead the ASC in four categories and have eighth players in the top 10 in several categories. ETBU leads the ASC in points (17.95 per set), assists (12.35 per set), kills (13.65 per set), and service aces (2.33 per set).
Graycee Mosley then leads the ASC in kills (4.79 per set) and points (5.28 per set).
In the NCAA, ETBU is 10
th in kills per set and 27
th in hitting percentage (.228). Mosley is ranked in three categories being sixth in kills per set, eighth in points per set, and 18
th in points.
Lillie Hill is 47
th in points per set (5.20).
In the ASC
Team
Points: 1
st (17.95 per set)
Assists: 1
st (12.35 per set)
Kills: 1
st (13.65 per set)
Service Aces: 1
st (2.33 per set)
Hitting %: 2
nd (.228)
Blocks: 3
rd (1.97 per set)
Digs: 5
th (17.23 per set)
Individually
Graycee Mosley
Kills: 1
st (4.79 per set)
Points: 1
st (5.28 per set)
Hitting Percentage: 9
th (.255)
Anita Hancock
Blocks: 5
th (0.90 per set)
Hitting Percentage: 6
th (.272)
Avery Reid
Points: 2
nd (3.87 per set)
Service Aces: 3
rd (0.44 per set)
Kills: 4
th (3.12 per set)
Lillie Hill
Digs: 2
nd (5.20 per set)
Service Aces: 10
th (0.36 per set)
Rachel Spicer
Hitting Percentage: 8
th (.266)
Sydney Temple
Assists: 4
th (5.69 per set)
Grace Williamson
Blocks: 7
th (0.79 per set)
Lexi Moody
Service Aces: 5
th (0.40 per set)
NCAA Standings
Team
10
th – Kills Per Set (13.65)
27
th – Hitting Percentage Per Set (.228)
Graycee Mosley
6
th – Kills Per Set (4.79)
8
th – Points Per Set (5.28)
18
th – Points (473.5)
Lillie Hill
47
th – Digs Per Set (5.20)
