NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Sweeping Allegheny College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Volleyball National Tournament, no. 8 East Texas Baptist University won their 28
th straight match, 25-19, 25-17, 25-20. It is the second year in a row that ETBU has won their opening match in the NCAA Tournament.
"I am really proud of our team," says head coach
Mallory Matthews. "Coming out here and getting a sweep in the first round is something we set out to do and I am just really proud them to come out on the big stage as that isn't an easy task against any team. We set out to glorify the Lord in all that we do and I feel like we did that as the team played with joy today and had a lot of fun and that's what it is all about."
Graycee Mosley led the team with her 21
st double-double, recording 17 kills and 10 digs, boasting 510 kills on the year. It is the second year in a row she has produced over 500 kills and is only the second ETBU player to reach this feat, matching Arden Tunnell (2003, 2005).
Avery Reid added 12 kills, and she now has 1,377 kills, surpassing Coach Matthews' career total of 1,373.
Hannah Perry recorded six kills with a .500 hitting percentage as
Callie Humphrey led the team with 16 digs.
Lexi Moody had 21 assists, while
McKenzie Mansell gave 20.
ETBU hit .303 in the match, which got stronger with each set. They hit .211 in set one, .333 in set two, and .387 with 17 kills in set three for 48 kills. ETBU's defense held Allegheny to a .125 hitting percentage and a .000 percentage in set one with eight kills.
Allegheny started the match with a 2-0 lead, but two Mosley kills and an
Emily Sitton kill put the Tigers ahead, 4-3. Down 8-7, ETBU went on a 9-1 run, taking a seven-point lead, 16-9. ETBU scored eight straight points before Allegheny took a timeout. After Allegheny went up 9-8, ETBU had three kills from Perry, Reid, and Sitton, along with four Allegheny attack errors and a block from Sitton and Emily Millikin. Mosley made it 21-16 on a kill, but Allegheny fought back to within four, 23-19. A Moody surprise kill and then a Mosley kill ended the set 25-19.
Once again, Allegheny ran out to a 3-0 lead in set two. ETBU answered quickly with six straight points on a kill from Mosley and Sitton and three Reid service aces. Allegheny came within two, 7-5, only to see ETBU reeled off four more points on kills from
Grace Williamson, Mosley, and Perry, with an Allegheny attack error making it 11-5. Back to within four, 12-8, ETBU put together a 5-0 run and a nine-point lead, 17-8. Williamson and Perry had kills, and
Sadie Kasowski added a service ace. Mosley added a kill to make it 20-13, and Perry's kill pushed the score to 22-14. Williamson finished set two with a kill to go up 2-0.
Heading into the third set, Mansell said this about Allegheny and how close the set was: "We knew possibly that this was going to be their (Allegheny) last game, and they were going to be hungry, and we just had to stay aggressive on the ball."
Aggressive is what ETBU did, hitting .387 with 17 kills. Allegheny pushed ETBU to its limits, taking a 9-7 lead. ETBU retook the 10-9 lead on a 3-0 run, as the match had nine lead changes after that point. Allegheny went up, 17-15, only to see a kill by Mosley and Reid tie the set. The Gators retook the lead, 19-18, but Ried and Sitton added kills for the one-point lead, 20-19. Allegheny tied the match at 20 on a kill, but ETBU scored the following five points for the win. Mosley had two kills, and Allegheny added three errors as ETBU advanced to the second round.
ETBU will face either William Paterson or Christopher Newport on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
