AUSTIN, Texas - In a match dubbed "The Battle of the Saints", the St. Edward's Hilltoppers took down the St. Mary's Rattlers, 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Recreation and Convocation Center. Saturday's win extends the Hilltopper season-opening winning streak to 5-0. That is good enough for the third-best start in school history. The Hilltoppers have started 6-0 on two different occasions.
 
In the opening set, the two teams truly lived up to the match nickname, locking up the set in a tie 12 times. Gridlocked at 19-19, St. Mary's would record one of its 17 kills of the set to push ahead. Although St. Edward's rallied to come within two points, they would fall 25-21.
 
Set two was just as intense. Early on, the Hilltoppers trailed 7-5, but two aces by Mary Koehler helped swing the momentum in favor of the home team. They would go on to score 10 out of the next 11 points to take a 15-8 lead. Jaclyn Billie took over starting setting duties and chipped in four digs to push St. Edward's to a 25-20 win. 
 
The third and fourth sets saw strong defense from St. Edward's. They recorded a combined 46 digs and seven blocks to hold off the Rattlers. St. Mary's tried to mount a comeback in each set, going point-for-point early on, but St. Edward's managed to pull away with the victory.
 
Freshman Madison McClurg led the team with 11 kills and recorded a .310 hitting percentage. Koehler, Kelly Jimenez and Billie each tallied 18 digs, while Loren Kelly had 20 assists.
 
The Hilltoppers next match is set for Thursday when they travel to Wichita, Kan. looking to defeat Heartland Conference opponent Newman. Live coverage can be found on the Jet Athletic Website.