LAREDO, Texas – After struggling in the first set, the St. Edward's Volleyball team responded by taking three-straight sets to open up Heartland Conference play with a win versus Texas A&M-International before a record-breaking crowd at the Kinesiology and Convocation Building. The Hilltoppers defeated the Dustdevils, 16-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-22.
 
TAMU-International (1-9, 0-3 HC) fed off the energy created from a crowd of over 600 fans to race out to a 14-5 lead. The Dustdevils used three service aces to help the cause. The home team would coast to a 25-16 win in set one and the Hilltoppers were in need of a momentum swing.
 
St. Edward's (3-6, 1-0 HC) found itself down, 9-6 in the second set. Then the Hilltopper offense started to click. Two kills by ANNA AYCOCK, one by MARY KOEHLER, and two service aces by JESSICA MORALES helped lead the visitors to a 12-1 run and give St. Edward's an 18-10 lead. Even though the Dustdevils closed the gap to 20-17, St. Edward's would not relinquish the lead as it won five of the last seven points to take the set, 25-19. ELISSA STANTON had two kills during the run, while KELLY JIMENEZ finished off the set with a service ace.
 
In set three, it was all Hilltoppers as they hit .326 as a team. Both KARINA GONZALEZ and Koehler had five kills during the set and Jimenez had the hot hand on defense with eight digs. The Hilltoppers cruised to a 25-15 win.
 
With TAMU-International desperately trying to force a fifth in deciding set during set four, St. Edward's opened with a LOREN KELLY service ace as the Hilltoppers took a quick 4-0 lead. The Dustdevils trailed 13-9, but rallied for five-straight points to take their first lead of the set, 14-13. With the score tied, 16-16, the Hilltoppers turned up the offense and embarked on a 6-2 run to take a 22-18 lead. The two teams would trade points the rest of the way as St. Edward's took a 25-22 win. The Hilltoppers hit .310 in the final set.
 
Koehler led three Hilltoppers in double-figure kills with 12, while Stanton and Aycock added 10 kills each. Kelley dished out 20 assists, while JACLYN BILLIE added 18 of her own. Jimenez led the Hilltopper defense with 17 digs, which tied her most as a Hilltopper. She now has had double-digit digs in eight of nine matches this year. Kelley also tallied 10 digs from her setter position.

"TAMU-International came out strong and they had the largest crowd I have seen at a match," head coach Sean Donahue said. "Once we focused on our side, the game felt more in control."
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Saturday when they continue their two-game road swing with a matchup in San Antonio versus archrival St. Mary's. The first edition of this year's Battle of the Saints will take place at noon at Bill Greehey Arena. Live stats and video will be available on the Rattler Athletic Website.