MARSHALL, Texas – An electric atmosphere was on hand in Ornelas Gym for the rivalry match against LeTourneau University as East Texas Baptist University battled back from a one-set deficit to take the win, 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-17). ETBU is now 10-2 overall and 4-0 in the ASC moving their record at home to 7-0.
 
"The win and atmosphere was amazing tonight. We started off rough in the first set but picked it up in sets two through four and I couldn't be prouder of my team," said Grace Williamson. "The fans were amazing tonight. There was a shark running around and deserves a shout out. It definitely helped us in the game with a crowd behind you like that."
 
Williamson set a career-high in kills with 11 hitting .429 while recording four blocks. Graycee Mosley added another double-double this year with 19 kills and 10 digs. Avery Reid added 10 kills and nine digs with five serving aces. Lillie Hill finished with 20 digs while Sydney Temple (27 assists) and Lexi Moody (17 assists) led in setting up ETBU's offense.
 
ETBU hit .215 overall with their best set coming in set three adding 14 kills and a .270 hitting percentage. They finished the night with 58 kills having double digits in all four sets.
 
Fired up for the rivalry match, LETU came out firing on all cylinders in set one holding off ETBU, 25-20. They took the lead early, 4-2, and didn't look back. An ETBU attack error put LETU up, 10-5, and they extended their lead to seven, 16-9, on a kill. Up 17-10, LETU saw ETBU fight back scoring five straight points to cut the lead to two, 17-15. A kill by Moody and Mosley helped in that run. LETU answered with three straight points and scored five of the next six points for a six-point advantage, 22-16. A kill by Reid and two LETU attack errors brought ETBU within four, 23-19, but two kills by LETU gave them the one-set lead, 25-20.
 
ETBU jumped out to a 5-1 lead in set two with a kill from Williamson and Maddison Harris. LETU scored four of the next five points to pull within one, 6-5. The match was then tied at nine before ETBU scored five of the next six points with two kills from Williamson and one from Reid for a 14-10 lead. LETU cut the score to two, 14-12, but ETBU answered with five straight points as Reid had three straight service aces along with a kill from Williamson and Mosley for a 19-12 lead. A bad ETBU set broke the streak but the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to make it 23-13 and a 10-point lead on a Hill service ace. After an ETBU error, ETBU scored two straight points on kills from Temple and Anita Hancock to tie the match at one, 25-14.
 
Set three mirrored the set before as ETBU went up, 2-1, in a 25-14 win. LETU, though, took a 4-2 lead and had a 7-6 lead when ETBU went on a run. A Hancock kill and a Mosley service ace led to a four-point run as ETBU took the lead, 10-7. LETU cut the lead to two, 10-8, but ETBU scored three straight points with kills from Moody and Reid making it 13-8. LETU answered with three of the next four points to come within three, 14-11, but ETBU reeled off eight of the next nine points making it a 10-point lead, 22-12. ETBU had four kills in the run as Mosley had three of them. Hancock gave ETBU a 23=-13 lead and then a Moody kill put ETBU up 24-14 before a LETU attack error ended the set as ETBU went up by one set.
 
It was all ETBU at the beginning of set four with a 7-2 lead. Five kills and a Hill service ace put ETBU in front early. A kill by Mosley made it 9-4 but LETU fought back to within one, 10-9, on a service ace. Two LETU errors and a Williamson kill put ETBU back up by four, 13-9, but LETU was within one, 16-15, on an ETBU attack error. ETBU answered with six of the next seven points for a 22-16 lead with five kills (Williamson, Mosley, Harris, Hancock) and a Harris service ace. After an ETBU attack error ended the run (22-17), two LETU errors and then a Mosley kill ended the match, 25-17.
 
ETBU will now be off for 10 days as their next match will not be until Sept. 29 in Alpine, Texas, at Sul Ross State University.