AUSTIN, Texas - The annual Battle of the Saints did not disappoint as St. Edward's and St. Mary's battled until the very end with the Hilltoppers taking the win 3-2 to close out the regular season. 

St. Mary's stormed out of the gate to lead 11-3 in game one, but the tide turned and SEU battled back to eventually take the lead 20-19 before winning the set 25-22. 

The Rattlers responded with an early lead in the second set that would hold up the rest of the way as they won 25-19. 

A fire was lit within the Hilltoppers as they opened the third set as they dominated early, pulling out to a 10-5 lead. A St. Mary's timeout could not stop SEU as they embarked on a 15-9 run to close the set 25-14 and take a 2-1 advantage in the match. 

The St. Edward's offense continued to play strong but STMU was able to be just a touch better and took advantage of the SEU attack errors to eke out the fourth set 25-22, forcing an epic fifth set. 

The Rattlers led early, 3-1, but the Hilltoppers continued to fight and eventually took the lead 6-4 on a monster block by LAURA DOOCY and MELISSA MCNEIL. After the fourth tie of the set, 8-8, SEU went on a demoralizing 5-1 run to earn a 13-9 advantage. With a solid lead in hand the Hilltoppers were able to close out the set with ease, 15-12.

KATE HENDRIX led with 16 kills and an impressive .273 attack percentage in the win, McNeil chipped in 12 while MADDIE MIKSCH and ALEXA MCANDREW added 11 each. JULIA HARTLEY posted 33 assists heading up the offense while MORGAN BECKHAM posted 34 digs and Doocy added five blocks, including the only solo block for SEU, in the win. 

St. Edward's improves to 17-11 with the win and 7-5 in Heartland Conference play with the win. They have earned a spot in the Heartland Conference Tournament for the third consecutive year and will await their matchup. Play begins on November 9th at the highest seed.