ABILENE, Texas — Headed back onto the road, No. 16 East Texas Baptist University dropped an American Southwest Conference match to McMurry University, 3-1, on Friday, falling 25-11, 17-25, 22-25, 23-25 at Kimbrell Arena. ETBU finished with 60 kills and a .299 hitting percentage, but its fourth-set push from an 18-15 deficit to a 20-19 lead was not enough to extend the match. ETBU is now 12-5 and 2-2 in the ASC.
Lara Hornsby led the Tigers with 18 kills and 20.0 points while adding two service aces.
Katherine Server finished with 13 kills and hit .458 on 24 attacks while
Anita Hancock added 10 kills.
Sydney Temple recorded a team-high 28 assists and added two aces.
Sadie Kasowski collected a team-high 18 digs and added three assists.
ETBU turned a 9-6 lead into a 16-7 lead in set one by winning seven of eight rallies, with
McKinzie Riley serving four straight points during that stretch. Hornsby and Server each had multiple kills in the run, and the Tigers continued to separate from McMurry from there.
Allison Sims and Riley added late kills as ETBU took the first set, 25-11.
In the second set, ETBU spent the frame trying to recover after McMurry scored the first three points and later moved ahead 18-10 with a four-point stretch. Server supplied five kills for the Tigers, including back-to-back points that made it 21-14. McMurry closed out the set 25-17.
A third-set rally brought ETBU back from a 16-11 deficit with four straight points, including kills by Sims and Hornsby, to pull within 16-15. After McMurry moved ahead 23-18, the Tigers answered with kills from Server and Hornsby and later scored twice after McMurry reached 24-20, but the set ended 25-22 on a service error.
ETBU erased a late 18-15 deficit and moved in front 20-19 on a Server kill and Temple service ace. The set stayed even through 23-23, with Sims, Temple and
Anita Hancock adding kills in that stretch, but McMurry scored the final two points to take the set 25-23.
ETBU will look to bounce back on Saturday as they head to Mabee Complex in Abilene, Texas, to play Hardin-Simmons at 1 p.m.
SET BREAKDOWN
First Set
- ETBU opened with Ellie Huntsman's service ace and stayed in front through the early exchanges, moving ahead 6-4 on Hornsby's kill.
- After McMurry pulled within 9-6, ETBU answered with points from Lindsey Gooch and Temple before a four-point service stretch from Riley made it 16-7.
- The Tigers kept control late, getting kills from Hancock and Sims, a Hornsby ace, and the closing kill from Riley to take the set 25-11.
Second Set
- McMurry scored the first three points before Server put ETBU on the board, and a Hornsby kill helped bring the Tigers within 6-4.
- McMurry pushed the set to 12-7 with consecutive points, then reached 15-10 on a kill after ETBU stayed close with kills from Gooch, Server and Hancock.
- A four-point McMurry run made it 18-10, and the Tigers later cut the margin to 22-16 on kills from Hornsby and Hancock before McMurry closed the set 25-17.
Third Set
- McMurry won the first four points, but ETBU worked back to a 7-7 tie behind kills from Hancock and Claire Stewart.
- After McMurry moved ahead 16-11, the Tigers answered with four straight points, including two Sims kills and a Hornsby kill, to cut the margin to 16-15.
- McMurry rebuilt the lead to 23-18, and ETBU made one more push with kills from Server and Hornsby before McMurry closed the set 25-22.
Fourth Set
- After Hornsby's opening kill, McMurry moved ahead 9-4 with consecutive aces capping the early stretch.
- ETBU trimmed a 12-7 deficit to 12-10, then used a later four-point push that included a Hancock kill, a Riley block and a Hornsby ace to cut McMurry's lead to 16-15.
- McMurry pushed back to 18-15, but the Tigers tied it at 18-18 on a Riley kill, a Kasowski ace, and a McMurry attack error. After McMurry went ahead 19-18, Server tied it, and Temple's ace put ETBU up 20-19.
- The teams traded points through Hancock's kill for a 23-22 ETBU lead, but the War Hawks delivered the final three kills as McMurry took the set 25-23.
ETBU Top Performers
Lara Hornsby
- team-high 20 points
- team-high 18 kills (4 errors, 45 attempts) on .311 hitting
- 2 service aces
- 4 digs
Katherine Server
- 13 kills (2 errors, 24 attempts) on .458 hitting
- 13 points
Sydney Temple
- 28 assists
- 2 service aces
- 4 digs
Sadie Kasowski
- team-high 18 digs
- 3 assists
- 1 service ace
Anita Hancock
- 10 kills (1 error, 20 attempts) on .450 hitting
- 10 points
