SAN ANTONIO, Texas—St. Edward's volleyball defeated St. Mary's University in five sets Thursday evening at Bill Greehey Arena. St. Edward's now stands at 2-0 in its "Battle of the Saints" record for the season with the thrilling 3-2 victory over its long-time rivals.
 
St. Edward's (13-2, 7-2 HC) dominated the first set, 25-15. Although it seemed as though the visitors might run away with the match, the Rattlers proved their competitive spirit in the second set.
 
The two teams traded blows, coming to a tie 18 times throughout the set. Up 24-23, St. Edward's had an opportunity to close the set, but a service error kept St. Mary's in the running. Two consecutive kills would give the home team the victory, 28-26.
 
After an intense set won by the Rattlers, the Hilltoppers ran away with the third set, 25-12. The visiting team hit an impressive .302 and held St. Mary's to a .053 hitting percentage.
 
Although St. Edward's saw an early lead in the fourth set, St. Mary's rallied back to deadlock the set at 20 a piece. The Rattlers would then go on to score five-unanswered points to win the set and bring the match score to 2-2.
 
In the fifth set, St. Mary's jumped ahead 11-7. The Hilltoppers responded promptly and were able to lock it up 16-16. An attack error and a kill by ELISSA STANTON gave St. Edward's the 18-16 match win.
 
HANNAH RAUCH and AMY JONES both registered a season-high kills with 17 and 13, respectively. KATIE MARTIN tied her season-high kill mark with 10 kills. LOREN KELLY tallied 28 assists and MARY KOEHLER recorded four aces.
 
The victory gives St. Edward's a 7-2 Heartland Conference record and, coupled with a Lubbock Christian loss to Newman, are now tied with the Lady Chaps for second place.
 
The Hilltoppers continue Heartland Conference play as they take on Texas A&M-International Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in Laredo, Texas. Live coverage can be found on the Dustdevil Athletic Website.