ABILENE, Texas — After going five sets and pushing through for the win in American Southwest Conference play, No. 16 East Texas Baptist University held off Hardin-Simmons University, 3-2, on Saturday at Mabee Complex. The Tigers overcame a two-point deficit to take the lead in the fifth set and won the deciding set 15-11, moving to 13-5 and 3-2 in the ASC.
Lara Hornsby led ETBU with 21 kills and 23 points while adding 15 digs and four block assists.
Sadie Kasowski collected a team-high 27 digs and added 10 assists and two service aces.
Sydney Temple finished with a team-best 27 assists, eight digs and one service ace.
Katherine Server added 13 kills on a .294 hitting percentage with four block assists and 16 points.
Anita Hancock gave 12 kills with a .423 hitting percentage and four blocks, while
Allison Sims posted 11 kills.
Peyton LeJeune produced 14 digs as Claire Steward had a double-double with 24 assists and 16 digs.
ETBU repeatedly worked back from deficits, beginning with a late first-set surge after Hardin-Simmons led 21-17. The Tigers used a 6-0 run to take the lead 23-21 and later converted set point at 25-23. The response carried into the next set, where ETBU answered a 14-8 deficit with four straight points, then turned a 16-15 deficit into a 22-16 edge behind a 7-0 run that included six straight service points. Even in the third set, the Tigers narrowed a 15-5 gap to 23-21 before the match eventually reached a fifth set.
In the deciding set, ETBU again came from behind, taking the lead after trailing by two and later moving ahead 12-11 on a Hardin-Simmons error before closing with a four-point burst. The Tigers finished with 69 kills to Hardin-Simmons' 47 and had advantages in digs, 93-73, and service aces, 8-4, while Hardin-Simmons hit .150 and totaled 20 blocks.
ETBU trailed 21-17 in the opening set before scoring six straight points, including five on
Heidi Wilson's serve, to take a 23-21 lead. Hornsby had two kills during that push, while Temple, Hancock and
Ava Bobnar each added one. After Hardin-Simmons cut it to 24-23, Hornsby finished the set with a kill from Stewart for a 25-23 Tigers win.
The Tigers erased a 14-8 deficit and took control of the second set by turning a 16-15 Hardin-Simmons lead into a 22-16 advantage. Stewart served through six straight points in that stretch, which included four
Lara Hornsby kills, a Stewart ace and a
McKinzie Riley kill. ETBU finished the set 25-19 on Kasowski's service ace.
ETBU's biggest push came late in the third set, turning a 23-17 deficit into 23-21 behind two Server kills, a Server-Hornsby block and a LeJeune ace. Earlier, the Tigers had fallen behind 15-5 but kept cutting into the gap with kills from Hornsby, Hancock, Riley and Server. Hardin-Simmons scored two of the final three points to take the set 25-22.
The Tigers fell behind in the fourth set as Hardin-Simmons turned a 20-14 score into 23-14 on three straight ETBU attack errors. ETBU answered with a Sims kill, a block by Server and Bobnar, and a LeJeune ace to reach 23-17, then added late kills from
Lara Hornsby before Hardin-Simmons closed the set 25-19.
ETBU answered an 8-4 deficit in the fifth set with five straight points, including a block by Sims and Hancock and back-to-back kills by Sims, to take the lead 9-8. After Hardin-Simmons tied the set at 11, the Tigers scored the final four points, with Hornsby adding a kill and LeJeune serving an ace to finish the 15-11 set.
ETBU travels to Conway, Ark., to face Hendrix College on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. at Garrison Court.
SET BREAKDOWN
First Set
- ETBU won the opening set 25-23 after a 6-0 run turned a 21-17 Hardin-Simmons lead into a 23-21 Tigers advantage.
- ETBU finished with 20 kills to Hardin-Simmons' 10, with Lara Hornsby recording six kills and Sims adding five.
- Heidi Wilson served five straight points during the late run, and Hornsby closed the set with the final kill.
Second Set
- ETBU won the set 25-19 after scoring six straight points on Claire Stewart's serve to move from 16-16 to 22-16.
- Lara Hornsby had six kills in the set, including four during the 6-0 stretch that put the Tigers in control.
- ETBU finished with 15 kills to Hardin-Simmons' seven, while Katherine Server and Anita Hancock combined for seven kills.
Third Set
- ETBU dropped the set 25-22 after trimming a 15-5 deficit to 23-21.
- Katherine Server led the Tigers' attack with six kills in the set, while Lara Hornsby added three.
- ETBU finished with two service aces, one each from Sadie Kasowski and LeJeune.
Fourth Set
- Hardin-Simmons won the set 25-19, including four straight points after ETBU reached 14-19 to make it 23-14.
- The Tigers finished with a 14-13 edge in kills, but committed 11 attack errors while Hardin-Simmons had one.
- Lara Hornsby led ETBU with four kills; Anita Hancock and Sims added three apiece, and Stewart and Sydney Temple combined for 11 assists.
Fifth Set
- ETBU won the fifth set 15-11 to finish a 3-2 match victory.
- After falling behind 8-4, the Tigers scored five straight points to move ahead 9-8, with Sims recording back-to-back kills in that stretch.
- Sims led ETBU with three kills in the set, while Lara Hornsby added two.
- The Tigers scored the final four points after an 11-11 tie, ending the set on Peyton LeJeune's service ace.
ETBU Top Performers
Lara Hornsby
- team-high 21 kills
- team-high 23.0 points
- 15 digs
- 4 block assists
Sadie Kasowski
- team-high 27 digs
- 10 assists
- 2 service aces
Katherine Server
- 13 kills
- 16.0 points
- 4 block assists
- 1 service ace
Sydney Temple
- team-high 27 assists
- 8 digs
- 2 kills
- 1 service ace
Claire Stewart
- 24 assists
- 16 digs
- 1 service ace
