September 16, 2015
VOLLEYBALL: MARSHALL, Texas (9/17/15) - Battling through five sets for an upset win the East Texas Baptist University volleyball team picked up their second top 25 victory in a week as they knocked off #11 Colorado College, 25-15, 19-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-11. ETBU defeated #23 Southwestern University last Friday in Sherman for their first top 25 win of the year and now stand at 8-2 overall.
"Our girls did an incredible job just fighting in that match to get to a game five," says head coach Lyndsay Mashe. "We played really well in game one and then let down a little bit in two and three and I felt like the kids responded well to get us a win in game four. We then fought back and forth in game five and I am really, really proud of this team."
ETBU has now won 19 of their last 20 matches at home including two top 25 wins now. Their 18-match winning streak came to an end on Tuesday but tonight took that taste of a loss away as a new streak maybe starting.
Mallory Sanders recorded her eighth double-double of the year with 14 kills and 16 digs while Adaeze Elonu added 13 kills. Alexis Zolan also posted a double-double with 13 assists and 13 digs. Reighanna Guzman added 25 assists. Hannah Jones led the team with 18 digs while Morgan Rupp had 16 digs. Courtney Brikett posted 14 kills for Colorado College while Sophie Merrifield had 24 digs.
ETBU led all the way through set one for the 25-15 lead. They ran out to a 11-6 lead on a Colorado College attack error. Colorado College fought back to come within one, 11-10, only to see ETBU score seven of the next nine points for an 18-12 lead. There were kills from Abby Weaver, Kailey Cavanaugh, and Sanders. ETBU scored the final four points from a service error and bad set from Colorado College along with an attack error and then a Sanders kill finished off the set one win.
In set two, ETBU was tied at four when Colorado College scored the next five points for a 9-4 advantage. ETBU would come back to within one, 14-13, but that is as close as it would come as Colorado College tied the match at one win each. Set three wasn?t pretty as Colorado College ran away with the score, 25-14. After a 6-6 tie, Colorado College scored the next 11 points for the 17-6 lead never looking back.
Leading all the way through set four, ETBU tied the match at two wins each. ETBU took a 7-3 lead only to see Colorado College pull within one, 14-13, on an ETBU attack error. ETBU was given three of the next four points on a kill by Weaver and a service ace from Bailee Moore. Once again just one point ahead, 18-17, ETBU had two straight kills from Elonu and Rebekah Troy for the 20-17 lead. The score came to within two 21-19, but another two straight points on a kill by Sanders and a Jones service ace put the set at 23-19. Colorado College gave ETBU the final two points on a service error and an attack error.
It was a battle in set five as the score went back and forth with Colorado College taking a 7-5 lead. ETBU responded with five straight points to swing the momentum their way. Two kills, one by Troy and Elonu each, and three attack errors from Colorado College gave ETBU the lead, 10-7. Twice Colorado College was within one, 10-9, and 11-10, but Elonu and Sanders each provided kills to keep ETBU in the lead. Two straight attack errors from Colorado College put ETBU up by four 14-10 and Moore finished off the match with a kill to make it 15-11 and take the match win.
ETBU only hit .117 and Colorado College finished at .137. ETBU's best hitting game came in set five at .364 with 10 kills.
ETBU hosts Belhaven University at 6:00 pm on Friday for their third straight volleyball match at home.