AUSTIN, Texas – The St. Edward's volleyball team dropped a heartbreaking five-set match to Western New Mexico Saturday night to cap off a 1-3 tournament showing at the 2013 Hilltopper-Rattler Classic at the Recreation and Convocation Center. St. Edward's opened the day, falling to Minnesota-Crookston, 25-18, 17-25, 25-19, 25-20, before dropping the tournament finale to Western New Mexico, 14-25, 25-17, 25-21, 27-29, 22-20.
 
In the first match of the day St. Edward's (1-3) started a little sluggish, with Minnesota-Crookston (3-1) taking a 10-6 lead. Kills by KELLY JIMENEZ and MARY KOEHLER helped St. Edward's close the gap to 11-10. The Golden Eagles responded with a 10-3 run to take control of the set, 21-13. The Hilltoppers made a late run by winning five of the next seven points, but two-straight points by the visitors gave them a 25-18 victory.
 
In set two, ANNA AYCOCK had two kills to lead St. Edward's to an opening 8-2 run. Minnesota-Crookston used an 8-3 run to close the gap to 11-10, however Koehler produced three kills to lead the Hilltoppers on a 6-1 run and take a 17-11 lead. Both teams would trade points from there on out with St. Edward's taking a 25-17 win. The Hilltoppers hit a match-high .312 during the set.
 
In the third set, St. Edward's, again, jumped out to a quick lead, 9-3. Minnesota-Crookston battled all the way back to tie the score 17-17, using a 14-8 run sparked by Alexandra Skeeter. The Golden Eagles then used four aces to close out the third set with an 8-2 run.
 
In the fourth set, both teams battled to a 12-12 tie. The Golden Eagles then made a statement with a 9-3 run to take a 21-15 lead. The two teams would trade points from there on out as Minnesota-Crookston took the decisive set, 25-20.
 
Aycock led the Hilltoppers with 11 kills. Kohler tallied seven kills and 11 digs, while both Jimenez and ASHLEY RAPPAPORT added 12 digs each. JACLYN BILLIE led the Hilltoppers with 13 assists.
 
In the final match of the tournament, St. Edward's took on Western New Mexico (3-1) in what proved to be the best match of the tournament. In the first set both teams held close as the Hilltoppers had a 9-7 lead early on. That is when the St. Edward's offense started to heat up. St. Edward's outscored the Mustangs, 16-7 the rest of the way on its way to a .316 hitting percentage.
 
In the second set it was Western New Mexico who excelled offensively, hitting a .419 percentage on its way to a 25-17 victory.
 
The third set saw the two teams tied, 18-18. The Mustangs tallied five kills down the stretch to rally for a 25-21 win.
 
St. Edward's stayed with it in set four. Trailing 23-22, the Hilltoppers got back-to-back kills from Koehler and HANNAH RAUCH, forcing the Mustangs into a timeout. After trading points for a stretch to make it 27-27, ANNA AYCOCK and TABITHA ELDER both had kills to take the set, 29-27, and set up the decisive fifth set.
 
In the final set it was back-and-forth with each having match points fought off by the other. The marathon set finally ended on a hitting error by the Hilltoppers, 22-20.
 
Koehler tallied a double-double with a team-high 14 kills and 19 digs, while Jimenez also added a double-double with 11 kills and 16 digs. Both Rauch and Aycock produced 12 kills, and Billie dished out 28 assists. LOREN KELLY had 26 assists of her own and Rappaport registered a career-high 34 digs. Koehler also had five aces in a losing effort.
 
St. Edward's will be back in action Friday when they travel to take part in the Bhakta Invitational hosted by New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas, N.M. They will open the tourney Friday against Colorado Mesa at 12:30 p.m. Check the Hilltopper website for complete details at www.gohilltoppers.com

2013 Hilltopper-Rattler Classic All-Tournament Team
Julia Bates (#1, Setter: University of Central Missouri) MVP
Haley Thompson (#3, Middle: University of Central Missouri)
Annie Reilly (#10, Libero: University of Central Missouri)
Carly Sojka (#7, Outside: University of Central Missouri)
Deprece Washington (#13, Middle: Adams State University)
Lindsay Stindt (#1, Outside: Adams State University)
Brittany Looker (#8, Outside: University of Minnesota-Crookston)
Mallory Kuechle (#1, Outside: Texas Woman's University)
Shannon Rich (#7, Middle: Western New Mexico University)
Victorria Martinez (#5, Libero: St. Mary's University)
ASHLEY RAPPAPORT (#1, Libero: St. Edward's University)