MARSHALL, Texas—A top 25 win and a perfect 6-0 American Southwest Conference record wrapped up another incredible home week for the No. 1 / 2 East Texas Baptist University volleyball program. The Tigers swept No. 24 St. Thomas Houston on Thursday in Ornelas, then defeated Hardin-Simmons 3-2 and Howard Payne 3-0 on Friday and Saturday to win the ASC regular season championship. ETBU is 25-0 and undefeated in the ASC for the second year in a row.
This week is the last regular-season home matches in Ornelas Gymnasium as they host the ETBU Tournament Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Austin College will take on UC Santa Cruz at 2:00 p.m., then Howard Payne will face LeTourneau at 4:00 p.m. ETBU will close out the night against face Austin College at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, UC Santa Cruz will take on Howard Payne at 10:00 a.m., then ETBU will face the Banana Slugs at 2:00 p.m.
Here are the game notes for this weekend's matches.
The Basics
No. 1/No. 2 ETBU (25-0 overall; 6-0 ASC) will host five teams this weekend: Austin College, UC Santa Cruz, Howard Payne, and LeTourneau. The Tigers will play in two matches, starting with Austin College (15-7 Overall; 9-3 SCAC) on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and UC Santa Cruz (8-13 Overall) on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
ASC Reunion
On Friday, ETBU will face an old conference foe, Austin College, for the 28th time. The Tigers hold a slight advantage over the Roos, 15-13 in the series. Austin College is coming off a four-game road streak, including wins over Texas Lutheran and Concordia (TX). They will face Mary Hardin-Baylor on Tuesday and UC Santa Cruz on Friday before facing the ETBU at 6:00 p.m. on that same Friday.
Slug Season
On Saturday, ETBU will face UC Santa Cruz. This is only the second time the Tigers have played the Banana Slugs, with their only other meeting resulting in a 3-0 sweep for ETBU in September of 2024. The match will start at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.
TIGERS ON TOP
The Tigers have earned the number one spot in the NPI rankings for the second straight week. ETBU received 71.402 points, staying in front of La Verne's 69.564 points. The Tigers are still ranked No. 2 in the AVCA coaches poll behind La Verne. This is the sixth week at No. 2, receiving 2,074 votes and 18 first-place votes. The Tigers started the season ranked No. 14, jumping to No. 8, then No. 5, and finally No. 2. Before this season, the highest ranking in the program was No. 8, which occurred in 2024.
Sweeping the House
ETBU has swept 10 out of 11 home matches this season, resulting in an 11-0 home record. The Tigers have won 37 straight regular-season home matches, their last loss coming in the 2022 season to LeTourneau. The Tigers have swept 18 of their 25 opponents this season and have only gone to a fifth set twice. Once against No. 5 Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the other vs. Hardin-Simmons, winning 3-2. UWEC is ranked No. 3 in the NPI with their only losses coming from the Tigers and No. 19 Washington University-St. Louis, while Hardin-Simmons is second in the American Southwest Conference.
Remarkable Résumé
The Tigers have faced and beaten four teams in the top 25 of the NPI Rankings. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which ETBU defeated 3-2 earlier in the season, is No. 4 with 67.235 points. Trinity University (TX) is No. 14 with 63.250 points and Berry College is 18th in NPI with 62,052 points. The Tigers just swept St. Thomas Houston 3-0 last weekend, who is ranked 24th with 60.971. Other teams that ETBU has defeated are No. 30 Northwestern-St. Paul (60.284), No. 35 Edgewood (WI) (59.951), and No. 55 Hendrix (58.001).
Block Party
Junior
Anita Hancock has earned 97 blocks this season and 275 in her career. The Celina, Texas, native is fifth on the ETBU all-time block list and has scored 231.5 points on the season.
PREVIOUS WEEKS NOTES
National Attention
Senior
Graycee Mosley was awarded with the American Volleyball Coaches Association National DIII Player of the Week on October 7th after a 3-0 weekend in Georgia during the Berry Invite on October 2nd and 3rd. Mosley played in all 11 sets that weekend, never coming out of a game. She had 45 kills on eight errors for a .378 hitting percentage.
'Can I get a Double-Double?'
Graycee Mosley achieved her 76th career double-double against Mary Hardin-Baylor last weekend. She recorded 18 kills and 14 digs. The four-year Senior has 1824 career kills and 1450 career digs.
Face of the ASC
Mosley has earned 18 ASC Player of the Week awards which is a new overall ASC record. ETBU has had a player awarded the American Southwest Conference Player of the Week seven of the eight weeks this season. The Tigers have swept both offensive and defensive awards in four of the eight weeks, with Mosley winning offensive and
Anita Hancock winning Defensive in week one, and Hancock winning Offensive and
Callie Humphrey winning defensive in week three. Mosley and Humphrey have won it twice, together, this year.
Mosley was awarded the ASC Offensive Player of the Week this week. The Senior from Troy, Texas, now has the most American Southwest Conference Weekly Awards in conference history of any sport with 18. Mosley had 29 kills on only five errors for a .400 hitting percentage. She recorded 11 kills and seven digs against Centenary and 18 kills with 14 digs against UMHB.
Callie Humphrey has won her third award of the season and fourth conference award in her two seasons with the Tigers. The Senior from Haslet, Texas, won Defensive Player of the Week with 24 digs, 13 assists, and four service aces. She recorded nine digs against Centenary and 15 against UMHB. Humphrey's defensive skills have been critical for the Tigers as she has helped pitch 16 shutouts this season.
Road Tested
ETBU was on the road for 14 of its 22 matches this season, including 10 straight away matches. They have been home for the last four matches and will have five more matches in Ornelas before hitting the road Austin College to face Ozarks and Austin College on November eighth.
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 219 kills, 69 digs, and 12 total blocks, totalling 238 points.
Tigers with Tenure
All of the Tigers' statistical leaders are upperclassmen. Senior
Graycee Mosley leads the team with 324 kills. Senior
Lexi Moody leads the team in assists with 371, followed closely by Junior
Sydney Temple with 342. Mosley also leads in service aces with 30, followed by Temple with 27. Junior
Anita Hancock leads the team in blocks with 86, and Humphrey leads the team in digs with 290. 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 eight with 76 career double-doubles. This week she achieved her 18th career ASC Weekly award, which is the most weekly awards of any American Southwest Conference athlete of any sport in the conference's history. On October 7th she was awarded The American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week award. The Senior from Troy, Texa,s is second on ETBU's all-time kills list with 1824 and fifth in all-time digs with 1450.
'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.
Homecoming Queens (Oct 14, 18)
During homecoming week, the Tigers swept two opponents at home for the second week in a row. ETBU beat Centenary 3-0 in Ornelas on Tuesday and swept Mary Hardin-Baylor 3-0 on Friday. The Tigers have faced and swept both of these opponents twice this season.
Home Sweep Home (Oct 9, 12)
ETBU returned to Ornelas after a month on the road and swept both Centre College and Hendrix College 3-0. The Tigers are 6-0 at home, sweeping every opponent to enter Ornelas Gymnasium this season.
'Georgia on My Mind' (Oct. 3-4)
The Tigers took a road trip to Georgia to participate in the Berry Invite. The Tigers won all three matches they played, sweeping Covenant, beating the host, number 14-ranked Berry, and beating Oglethorpe. The Tigers are the only team from outside the state of Georgia in the invitational and the only team to beat every opponent in the invite.
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, 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.
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 live streamed through the ETBU+ Network, and are linked
here
