MEDFORD, Mass. — For the third year in a row, No. 1 East Texas Baptist University won its opening match in the NCAA Division III National Tournament as it swept Maine Maritime 25-8, 25-14, 25-7. ETBU is now 32-0 and has advanced to the NCAA Division III Second Round in five of its six program appearances.
The Tigers outscored the Mariners 75-29 overall with a .434 hitting percentage. Defensively, ETBU limited the Mariners to a -.086 hitting percentage, only completing 10 kills.
Eight different Tigers posted kills in the match as
Lara Hornsby and
Graycee Mosley led the team. Hornsby recorded 12 kills on only one error for a .550 hitting percentage, while Mosley achieved 10 kills on three errors for a .259 hitting percentage with 12 digs for her 83rd career double-double.
Callie Humphrey added 13 digs, and
McKenzie Mansell notched 10. Humphrey also had four service aces.
Sydney Temple and
Lexi Moody combined for 33 of the team's 37 assists, with Temple recording 16 and Moody recording 17.
Anita Hancock posted eight kills and a block while
Katherine Server recorded three blocks and two service aces.
The first set was all Tigers as the offense exploded from the start. Server scored two service aces, putting ETBU up 2-1. Maine Maritime capitalized on a service error and a bad set to come within one point, 4-3, but after that, ETBU widened the gap, only allowing eight points in the first set. Horsby led the team with eight kills, followed closely by Mosley's five. The Tigers held a .458 hitting percentage in the first set as Temple recorded 16 of the team's 24 assists in the first set. The Tigers' defense held Maine Maritime to a -.152 hitting percentage in the first set, with
Graycee Mosley recording seven of the team's 14 digs and
Callie Humphrey adding four. ETBU won the first set 25-8.
ETBU started the second set trading off kills with the Mariners, including early kills from Moody and Mosley. Hancock recorded several kills in the second half, helping the Tigers take the lead, but it wasn't until the Mariners tied the score at 12-12 with a service ace that ETBU took control of the second set. The Tigers then scored 10 points in a row with pivotal kills from Hancock, Mosley, and Server. The ASC MVP Mosley secured the second set with a kill assisted by
McKenzie Mansell for the 25-14 win.
The third set was the most efficient for the Tigers, as they allowed only seven points in the win. Hornsby, Mosley, and Hancock all scored as ETBU took a 7-0 start. After the Mariners scored their first point of the set, ETBU scored four more with Mosley, Hornsby, and Hancock combining for the 11-1 lead. After attack errors from Maine Maritime, the Tigers scored on kills from Moody and a service ace from Humphrey, going up 19-2. Server and Hornsby both scored, putting ETBU up 22-6 before a series of attack errors from the Mariners helped the Tigers win the match, 25-7.
ETBU completed its 25th sweep of the season and is advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in program history. The Tigers will face Emory University (20-7 overall, 5-2 UAA) at 3:30 p.m. Central time at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, tomorrow.
NOTES
- ETBU completed its 25th sweep of the season
- ETBU advances to the second round for the fifth time in the program
- The 32 wins tie the program record set in 2013 under former head coach Lyndsey Mashe, when current head coach Mallory Matthews was a freshman
- ETBU is now 5-5 in the NCAA Tournament
- Head Coach Mallory Matthews is now 3-2 in the NCAA Tournament
- Graycee Mosley recorded her 83rd career double-double
- Emory will be the fifth-ranked team that ETBU will play this season
