Sports
UMHB Volleyball
Monday, 24 September 2012 by Keith Bahlmann
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team opened strong and stormed to a 3-0 victory over LeTourneau University in the Cru's American Southwest Conference East Division opener Tuesday night in Belton. UMHB improves to 8-1 overall and 1-0 in the ASC with the 25-15, 25-16, 25-11 win. LeTourneau falls to 3-6 overall and 0-1 in ASC play on the year with the loss.
The Cru opened the first set with a 10-4 run before LeTourneau battled back to cut it to 13-9. UMHB answered with three straight points and would not let the Yellow Jackets get closer than six points the rest of the way. Lauren Powell would serve the Cru to a 5-0 lead in the second set, but LeTourneau once again cut the gap, pulling to within 12-8. UMHB would hold an 18-15 lead before scoring seven of the final eight points to claim the set. The Cru broke open the third set by jumping out to 8-1 and 14-3 leads before cruising to the win.
Powell led UMHB with 11 kills and Tina Miller added 10 more. Shelby Prather had 35 assists and Kendra Feldmann recorded a team-high seven digs. Powell and Miller also combined for five service aces and the Cru hit .320 as a team.
Kayla Ronda topped LeTourneau with five kills and eight digs. Sarah Krippner recorded seven assists to lead the Yellow Jackets in the match.
UMHB will continue its home stand with a 2:00 PM match against defending ASC East Division champion U.T.-Dallas this Saturday. UMHB will then play another key ASC East Division match at U.T.-Tyler next Tuesday.
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball team posted two more victories to close out the U.T.-Tyler Tournament Saturday in Tyler. The Cru opened with a three-set win over Texas College before knocking off Millsaps College in three sets. UMHB improves to 7-1 on the season with the two wins.
The Cru beat Texas College 25-8, 25-10, 25-16 to open the day. Tina Miller led the way with 12 kills, Lauren Powell added nine kills and Morgan Baker had five kills without an attack error. Cheyenne Dowdey led the UMHB defense with nine block assists and Kendra Feldmann posted 11 digs. Shelby Prather recorded 25 assists for the Cru.
UMHB then rolled to a 25-19, 25-10, 25-20 victory over Millsaps. Baker had a double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs while Miller added 12 kills. Elise Butler had a team-high 24 digs and Prather recorded 37 assists in the win.
UMHB will now return home to open American Southwest Conference East Division play with a pair of matches next week. The Cru will open with a 7:00 PM match against LeTourneau University next Tuesday before closing out the week by hosting defending ASC East Division champion U.T.-Dallas for a 2:00 PM match next Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center.
Miller earns conference honors
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor volleyball player Tina Miller has been named American Southwest Conference East Division Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending September 9th. Miller, a senior middle hitter from Copperas Cove High School, hit .500 with 45 kills over four matches at the U.T.-Tyler Tournament. Miller added 18 total blocks and four service aces in leading the Cru to a perfect 4-0 record in that event. She also earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.
The Cru volleyball team is currently 7-1 on the season. UMHB returns to action with its first home match of the year tonight. The Cru will host LeTourneau University for a 7:00 PM start in the ASC East Division opener for both teams.
