Box Score AUSTIN, Texas – Sparked by a raucous crowd of over 700, the St. Edward's volleyball team got a huge win over long-time rival St. Mary's, 3-0 Thursday evening at the Recreation and Convocation Center. The Hilltoppers revenged an earlier defeat to the Rattlers and moved into third place of the Heartland Conference with the 25-11, 25-21, 25-19 victory.
 
St. Edward's (8-13, 6-5 HC) fed off the energy from the spirited crowd and jumped out to a 7-2 lead. The Hilltoppers never looked back as MARY KOEHLER had four kills in the first set, while TABITHA ELDER, HANNAH RAUCH, and ANNA AYCOCK all had three kills each. St. Edward's hit a blistering .500 as a team during the first-set rout.
 
Set two also saw the Hilltoppers race out to an early lead at 9-3. AMY JONES registered three kills and KELLY JIMENEZ added a service ace that forced St. Mary's into a timeout. The Rattlers fought back using a 7-3 run keyed by three kills from Melissa Heft to bring the score to 12-10. St. Edward's would take control back with the help of its middle hitters. Aycock, Elder and ELISSA STANTON all had two kills during an 11-5 run that saw St. Edward's with a 23-15 advantage. St. Mary's would make it interesting with five-straight points, but Koehler "killed" the Rattlers' rally with two kills to give the Hilltoppers the set.
 
In the final set, neither team would budge early with the score tied, 8-8. The Hilltoppers got two kills from Jones and Stanton to start a 9-2 run and give the home team a 17-10 lead. St. Mary's made a run towards the end to bring the score within 20-17. St. Edward's went back to their big gun, Koehler, and she provided three kills to end the match on a 5-2 run.
 
Koehler led the Hilltoppers with 13 kills to go along with her 13 digs. That makes four-straight matches that she has had a double-double. During those four matches, Koehler has averaged 14.5 kills and 15.3 digs.
 
Jimenez, who switched to libero six matches ago, has made the most of her move. The junior transfer had 21 digs Thursday evening and has tallied 147 digs in 23 sets for an average of 6.39 digs a frame. She also has 16 aces in those six matches.
 
Jones tallied nine kills for the Hilltoppers while Rauch and Stanton added eight kills apiece. Aycock and Elder chipped in with six kills each. LOREN KELLY led the offense with 24 assists, while JACLYN BILLIE added 11 of her own. JESSICA MORALES helped out on the defensive end with 11 digs off of the bench.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they host Heartland Conference rival Texas A&M-International. It is also being tabbed as their annual "Dig Pink" match, which serves as a fundraiser for Breast Cancer research and provides awareness to this deadly disease. First-serve is set for noon at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic website.