Box Score Box Score

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA, Kan. – After dropping sets one and three, St. Edward's University's volleyball team kept its Heartland Conference volleyball tournament hopes alive with a 21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 18-16 win at Newman Saturday at Fugate Gymnasium.

KATIE MARTIN posted a season-high 21 kills and hit over the .400 mark for the fourth-consecutive match at an even .400 clip. Defensively, MORGAN BECKHAM led the Hilltoppers (15-9, 5-5) with 28 digs, and added a double-double with 11 assists. KATE HENDRIX also added a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, and in one of the most balanced offensive outputs of the season, MADISON MCCLURG had 15 kills and MELISSA MCNEIL had 14.

On paper the match was as even as it could get with SEU hitting .293 as a team while the Jets (10-18, 3-6) hit an admirable .290. Newman's Hailey Braddy had 25 kills on a .444 hitting mark in the losing effort.

With the win, the Hilltoppers stay in the top four places in the Heartland Conference standings. With two matches to spare (Dallas Baptist, 11/4 & Lubbock Christian, 11/11), SEU will need to stay there or better as the league takes four of the seven teams to its postseason tournament.

HIGHLIGHTS
• KATIE MARTIN's 20th of her 21 kills gave her 850 career kills, and with her first kill Saturday she now has the highest single-season kills total of her four-year career. After collecting 235 as a junior, her previous high, kill No. 1 Saturday gave her 236 and she carries 256 heading into SEU's next match Nov. 4.
• Martin pushed her streak to four matches hitting above .400 and it was her 43rd career-match with double-digit kills.
• KATE HENDRIX collected her first double-double since Oct. 13, 2016 (23d, 10k) with 10 kills and 10 digs.
• MORGAN BECKHAM's 28 digs give her 39 career-matches with at least 20 digs.
• Beckham recorded the fourth double-double of her career with 28 digs and 11 assists.
• MELISSA MCNEIL's 14 kills were a season high and the fifth time this season the freshman has reached double-digit digs in a match.
• JULIA HARTLEY needed 29 assists to reach the 1,100 career-assists mark, and Saturday she got exactly that, leading the Hilltoppers' .293 offensive hitting effort with 29 assists.
• Hartley collected her 27th career double-double adding 11 digs in the win.
• OLIVIA ROME had a season-high 27 assists and MORGAN BECKHAM added 11 in the win for SEU.
• MADISON MCCLURG tallied a season-high 15 kills, it was the second time this season and the 12th time in her career she's reached double-digit kills.

STAT OF THE GAME I
77 – SEU's 77 kills were a season-high with its previous best, 76, coming vs. Henderson State (9/23).

STAT OF THE GAME II
4 – On the toughest stretch of the season, St. Edward's closed a seven-match road trip with a 4-3 record; The Hilltoppers haven't played at home in Austin since Sept. 30.

THEY SAID IT
SEU Head Coach Mary DeJute on SEU's offensive explosion …
"Offense was on today. It was great to see them fight for the win. Mo[rgan Beckham] did a nice job digging and covering lots of territory. Katie [Martin] and Maty [McClurg] teamed up on opposite pins and killed the ball. Tough to play and win when Newman was hitting over a 290."

WHAT'S NEXT
SEU's seven-match road trip closed Saturday at Newman and the Hilltoppers return home Nov. 4 to face Dallas Baptist at Noon.