Box Score Box Score
THE RUNDOWN
ODESSA, Texas – The St. Edward's volleyball team's three-match losing skid came to an end Saturday at the Falcon Dome as the Hilltoppers (12-7) downed UTPB (4-13) 25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 35-33.
Freshmen
MELISSA MCNEIL and
MADDIE MIKSCH took the offensive reins leading the Hilltoppers with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Senior
KATIE MARTIN came off the bench to provide a spark in the final two sets, adding a dozen kills. SEU hit .174 while holding the Falcons to a .080 mark, and the Hilltoppers completed their season sweep of UTPB. St. Edward's defeated the Falcons in four sets at home Sept. 9.
The final set ended in an epic see-saw battle. SEU led 23-18 before UTPB rattled off five-straight points to tie the score at 23. From there, the score was tied 10 times until a setting error from the Falcons and a service ace from Martin allowed the Hilltoppers to score the final two points.
HIGHLIGHTS
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MIKAYLA PARKER had 10 kills on a .450 hitting percentage adding eight total blocks, including a season-high four solo blocks. Parker's 10 kills marked the third time in her career that she's reached double-digit kills.
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MELISSA MCNEIL led the Hilltoppers with 13 kills on a .242 hitting mark; it was the fourth time this season that the freshman recorded double-digit kills.
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KATIE MARTIN's 40th career match with double-digit kills came with a dozen Saturday off the bench in the final two sets to help ensure victory.
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MORGAN BECKHAM's 31 digs marked the 13th time in her career that she has surpassed 30 digs in a match; the junior libero is just four digs shy of cracking SEU's Top 10 All-Time Digs list (1,551).
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JULIA HARTLEY led the Hilltoppers with 31 assists and added the 26th double-double of her career with 18 digs.
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MADDIE MIKSCH had her first collegiate match with double-digit kills, recording 10 in the win.
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OLIVIA ROME added a career-high 20 assists for SEU.
STAT OF THE GAME I
11 – SEU out-blocked UTPB 11-5 to pick up the victory.
STAT OF THE GAME II
12 – SEU's 12th win surpassed last year's win total with seven matches to spare.
THEY SAID IT
SEU Head Coach Mary DeJute on individual performances at UTPB …
"Definitely a big battle at the end. Getting the three losses over with now and getting a win at the end of the weekend was good. I'm very happy with the way our team blocked,
MIKAYLA PARKER blocked very, very well.
KATIE MARTIN came in and did a very nice job offensively, and really solidified the cohesiveness of our team. Overall, I think our offense did a fairly decent job from what we've been doing in the past. It was very scrappy, UTPB did a very nice job, they had balls up off the ground so our kids had to continuously play, which was really good.
MADDIE MIKSCH did a very nice job off the right side, she was definitely a spark plug for us.
OLIVIA ROME did a nice job setting and running the system.
MELISSA MCNEIL did a really nice job on the outside, she was even swinging off the back row and did a nice job defensively also. Overall, we're happy to get out of here with a win. UTPB is definitely on their way up and we're happy to head back home and get back into Heartland Conference play."
WHAT'S NEXT
SEU resumes its road trip Thursday and picks Heartland Conference play back up at 7 p.m. at Dallas Baptist.
