AUSTIN - It is no surprise that the first Battle of the Saints matchup of the year was a fierce one as St. Edward's and St. Mary's battled in a five set match Tuesday. The Hilltoppers came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2, 22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-9.
 
St. Mary's led the majority of the first set and was able to pull out the set win 25-22 despite being held to a .167 attack percentage thanks to seven Hilltopper blocks while SEU hit .276. Five aces by the Rattlers proved to be the difference maker. 
 
SEU stormed out to a 6-1 lead in the second set, but StMU clawed back into the match to eventually lead 16-15. The slight advantage was all the Rattlers needed to close out the set 25-20. 
 
St. Mary's held an advantage early in the third set, but SEU made a run to pull within two, 16-14, after back-to-back blocks. A Rattler timeout could not halt the comeback as the Hilltoppers eventually took the lead, and closed out the set 25-23. St. Edward's held StMU to .024 hitting percentage in the set while hitting .238 with four kills from MADDIE MIKSCH. 
 
As the third set got underway, SEU pressed to a three point lead, 12-9. The Rattlers put together a 4-0 run out of the timeout to briefly lead, 13-12, but St. Edward's had other plans, eventually going up 21-17 and setting the Hilltoppers up nicely for the 25-20 win to force a fifth set. 
 
St. Edward's dominated the final set, jumping out to an early lead and relied on their relentless offense to close out the match 15-8.
 
Miksch was outstanding offensively, providing the spark the Hilltoppers needed, leading the way with 16 kills and an impressive .412 attack percentage. KAITLYN KRAFKA added 13 along with a team high 19 digs. NATALIA WALLS posted 26 assists while EMILY TRAN added 24 with Nicole Grant coming off the bench to snag 17 digs.
 
St. Edward's improves to 2-3 on the year and 2-3 in the Lone Star Conference. The match-up continues on Wednesday at 5 pm.