MARSHALL, Texas – Back home in Ornelas Gym after a 10-match road trip, No. 2 East Texas Baptist University will host Centre College and Hendrix College. The past month on the road included two wins over ranked opponents and a rise in the national poll to No. 2 in the nation moving to 18-0.
ETBU won all three matches at the Berry College Invite this past weekend, sweeping Covenant and beating No. 14 Berry and Oglethorpe in four sets. The Tigers return home on Thursday to face Centre College at 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday take on Hendrix College at 2:00 p.m.
Here are the game notes for this weekend's match up.
The Basics
The No. 2-ranked East Texas Baptist University Tigers (18-0 overall; 3-0 ASC) will host Centre College (10-6 overall; 3-4 SAA) this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. ETBU will then host Hendrix College (12-2 overall; 6-1 SCAC) on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
Two High to Deny
The Tigers are the number two team in the country for the third week in a row on the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll. This is the highest ranking of any ETBU Volleyball team. The previous record was hit three weeks ago when they became ranked no. 5. ETBU has moved up every week except the last three weeks 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.
National Attention
Senior
Graycee Mosley has been awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association National DIII Player of the Week after her weekend in Georgia at the Berry Invite on October 2-3. Mosley played in all 11 sets, never coming out of a match, tallying 45 kills on eight errors for a .378 hitting percentage. The Senior from Troy, Texas, also recorded 28 digs and one block. Mosley hit her 73rd career double-double this weekend.
Sweep City
The Tigers have swept 12 of their 18 opponents this season and have only gone to a fifth set once against no. 5 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, winning 3-2.
'Can I get a Double-Double?'
Graycee Mosley achieved her 72nd and 73rd double-doubles against No. 14 Berry and Oglethorpe last weekend. She recorded 10 digs and 17 kills against Berry and 13 digs and 19 kills against Oglethorpe. The four-year Senior has 1763 career kills and 1400 career digs.
Face of the ASC
ETBU has had a player awarded the American Southwest Conference Player of the Week five times in the six weeks this season. The Tigers have swept both offensive and defensive awards in three of the six weeks, with
Graycee Mosley winning offensive four times, and
Anita Hancock winning defensive in week one and offensive in another week.
Callie Humphrey has been the defensive winner two times. This week, the Tigers swept the conference awards again, with
Graycee Mosley collecting her 16th Weekly award, winning Offensive Player of the Week, and
Callie Humphrey winning her third Defensive Player of the Week of her career. The Tigers went 3-0 to start conference play, sweeping every conference opponent 3-0, all on the road.
This week, Mosley played in all 11 sets this weekend, never coming out of a game. She had 45 kills on eight errors for a .378 hitting percentage. The Senior from Troy, Texas, also recorded 28 digs and one block this weekend. Mosley hit her 73rd career double-double this weekend.
Humphrey collected 42 digs and helped the Tigers earn their 12th season sweep against Covenant.
Road Tested
ETBU has been on the road for 15 of its 18 matches this season, including 10 straight away. They will finally return home this Thursday to face Centre College and then face Hendrix College on Sunday.
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 174 kills, 58 digs, and 12 total blocks, totaling 188 points.
Tigers with Tenure
All of the Tigers' statistical leaders are upperclassmen. Senior
Graycee Mosley leads the team with 263 kills. Senior
Lexi Moody leads the team in assists with 300, followed closely by Junior
Sydney Temple with 278. Mosley also leads in service aces with 27, followed by Temple with 22. Junior
Anita Hancock leads the team in blocks with 75, and Humphrey leads the team in digs with 240. ETBU's senior class includes five players:
McKenzie Mansell,
Humphrey,
Taylor Poore,
Mosley, and
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 seven with 73 career double-doubles. The 16-time ASC Player of the Week is second on ETBU's all-time kills list with 1763 and fifth in all-time digs with 1400.
'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.
'Georgia on My Mind' (Oct. 3-4)
The Tigers took a road trip to Georgia to participate in the Berry Invite. They won all three matches, sweeping Covenant then beating the host, No. 14 Berry and Oglethorpe in four sets. The Tigers are the only team from outside 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 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, including their last seven matches.
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 is linked
here 