MARSHALL, Texas– After a 3-0 start in the American Southwest Conference, No. 2 East Texas Baptist University is a perfect 15-0 heading into this weekend's matchups at the Berry College Invite. The Tigers played and swept the entire ASC schedule on the road in eight days. ETBU started with a 3-0 victory on Friday, September 19th, against Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton. Then they went to Abilene on Friday and Brownwood on Saturday, sweeping Hardin-Simmons and Howard Payne 3-0. They now head to Berry College, located in Mount Berry, Georgia, this weekend to participate in the Berry Invitational. The Tigers will face Covenant College at 3:30 p.m. on Friday and the host team, Berry College, at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, they will face Oglethorpe at 12:30 p.m.
Here are the game notes for this weekend's matchup;
The Basics
The No. 2-ranked East Texas Baptist University Tigers (15-0 overall; 3-0 ASC) will head to Mount Berry, Ga., this Friday to face Covenant College (6-7 overall; 2-1 CCS) at 3:30 p.m. then face the host no. 14 Berry College (13-2 overall; 5-1 SAA) at 6:00 p.m.
The Tigers will close their time in Georgia on Saturday against Oglethorpe (6-11 overall; 0-6 SAA) at 12:30 p.m. The match will take place at the Cage Center on the campus of Berry College.
Corralling Covenant
ETBU will need to be at its best this weekend against Covenant. They are 0-1 against the Scots. The only time these two opponents faced off was in a four-set battle and a [20-25, 24-26, 25-13, 23-25] Covenant victory. Seniors
Graycee Mosley and
Lexi Moody were pivotal in that 2023 match, leading the team in kills and assists. This experienced senior class will look to turn the tide against a talented Covenant program on Friday.
Berry Dangerous
Berry College started the pre-season unranked but received votes. They have been in the AVCA rankings ever since. After week one, they earned the 24th spot, then moved up to 21st, then 15th, and now they are at No. 14. ETBU and Berry faced off once in 2009, resulting in a 3-0 sweep for the Tigers. They will see each other for a second time in a top-15 match-up on Friday night in Berry's home gymnasium.
Unfamiliar Foe
Oglethorpe is a brand new opponent for the Tigers. The Atlanta, Ga., university is 6-11 on the season and 0-6 in the Southern Athletic Association. Though they haven't faced off, Oglethorpe and ETBU have a few common opponents in Trinity University,Centre College, Berry College, and Belhaven. All the opponents the Tigers will face this weekend are from the host state of Georgia as ETBU is the only school traveling from out of state.
Two High to Deny
The Tigers are the number two team in the country for the second week in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. This is the highest ranking of any ETBU Volleyball program. The Previous record was hit three weeks ago when they became ranked no. 5. ETBU has moved up every week except this week on the AVCA Poll, starting the season ranked number 14. Before this season, the highest ranking any ETBU Volleyball program had received was number eight, which occurred in 2024..
Sweep City
The Tigers have swept 11 of their 15 opponents this season and have only gone to a fifth set one time against no. 5 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, winning 3-2.
'Can I get a Double-Double?'
Graycee Mosley achieved her 70th double-double against Hardin-Simmons last weekend with 13 kills and 14 digs. The four-year Senior has 1715 career kills and 1357 career digs.
Face of the ASC
The Tigers went 3-0 to start conference play, sweeping every conference opponent all on the road. ETBU has also had a player named the American Southwest Conference Player of the Week for four of the five weeks this season. The Tigers have swept both offensive and defensive awards in two of the five weeks, with
Graycee Mosley winning offensive and
Anita Hancock winning Defensive in week one, and Hancock winning Offensive and
Callie Humphrey winning defensive in week three.
This week, Mosley was named offensive player of the week after hitting her 70th and 71st career double-doubles. Mosley achieved 26 kills on six errors with 27 digs, totaling 27.5 points. This is her third player of the week award this season out of the five weeks of play. She has 15 total Player of the Week awards in her four seasons at East Texas Baptist University.
Road Tested
ETBU has been on the road for 11 of its 15 matches this season. It will play three more away matches before coming home on October 9th. ETBU opened American Southwest Conference play by facing all of its conference opponents on the road and sweeping all three matches in three sets.
A Grand Accomplishment
Callie Humphrey and
Lexi Moody both achieved significant career milestones this season. Humphrey completed her 1,000th career dig against Centenary, and
Lexi Moody accomplished her 2,000th career assist.
Freshman Phenom
With a team full of upperclassmen, Freshman
Lara Hornsby has become a major contributor for the Tigers. Playing in every match this season, Hornsby has achieved 141 kills, 46 digs, and 11 total blocks, totaling 152 points.
Tigers with Tenure
All of the Tigers' statistical leaders are upperclassmen. Senior
Graycee Mosley leads the team with 215 kills. Senior
Lexi Moody leads the team in assists with 246, followed closely by Junior
Sydney Temple with 219. Mosley also leads in service aces with 20, followed by Temple with 17. Junior
Anita Hancock leads the team in blocks with 64, and Humphrey leads the team in digs with 197. ETBU's senior class includes five players:
McKenzie Mansell,
Callie Humphrey,
Taylor Poore,
Graycee Mosley, and
Lexi Moody. Four of the five have been four-year starters for the Tigers.
Mosley File
Three-time ASC Most Valuable Player
Graycee Mosley heads into week five with 71 career double-doubles. The 13-time ASC Player of the Week is third on ETBU's all-time kills list and ninth in all-time digs.
'Hey Now, You're an All Star'
Head Coach
Mallory Matthews, the reigning ASC Coach of the Year, enters 2025 with five returning All-ASC players —
Graycee Mosley,
Anita Hancock,
Lexi Moody,
Callie Humphrey, and
McKenzie Mansell. Mosley is the three-time ASC MVP, Moody was the 2024 ASC Setter of the Year, and Humphrey the 2024 ASC Newcomer of the Year.
Put a Ring on it
In early September, the Tigers received their 2024 ASC Championship ring at Ornelas Gymnasium in their home opener.
Travelin' Tigers (Sept. 26-27)
ETBU traveled to every American Southwest Conference opponent in the span of eight days, sweeping all three opponents 3-0. The Tigers took care of business against UMHB on September 19th and then swept Hardin-Simmons on September 26 in Abilene and Howard Payne on September 27 in Brownwood. The Tigers have played 11 of their 15 matches this season on the road. Their last seven matches have been on the road, but the road trip will come to a close this weekend with a three-match invitational in Mount. Berry, Georgia, before the Tigers finally return on October 9th to face Centre College in Ornelas Gymnasium.
Business Trip (Sept. 16, 19)
ETBU went back on the road, sweeping Centenary in Shreveport, LA, on Tuesday night. Then, the Tigers returned to Texas, opening conference play against UMHB, winning 3-0 in Belton.
Historic Weekend (Sept. 12-13)
ETBU went 3-0 at the Tiger Classic hosted by Trinity Texas, defeating Whitworth (3-1), UNW (3-0), and Trinity (3-1). The Tigers broke two program records. Beating No. 12 Trinity Texas for the first time in program history and going 11-0 for the first time.
Hometown Heroes (Sept. 5-6)
The Tigers went 4-0 in their home opener, winning every match in three sets. Last year, they posted a 29-match streak that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They carry a 30-match regular-season home winning streak and a 29-match regular-season win streak into week three of play. The Tigers have not lost a regular-season home match since 2022, when they fell 3-2 to LeTourneau.
Cool in Colorado (Aug. 29-30)
ETBU opened the season by going a cool 4-0 in the Pikes Peak Challenge hosted by Colorado College. The Tigers started off the weekend by beating Edgewood 3-0 and then played a close 5-set match with no. 22 Wisconsin-Eau Claire. ETBU then took on host Colorado College in a 3-1 victory, ending their time with a 3-0 sweep against Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
On the Air
The matches for this weekend will be livestreamed through Berry College's website and is linked
here 