AUSTIN, Texas — St. Edward's volleyball needed only three sets to end a two-decade wait, sweeping West Texas A&M 25-17, 25-16, 25-20 in dominant fashion for its first victory over the Lady Buffs since 2004.

Reigning Lone Star Conference Setter of the Week ALTHEA MORRIS kept the Hilltopper attack firing on all cylinders, guiding three hitters to double-digit kills and directing a fourth consecutive match of hitting .299 or better. Morris finished with 35 assists and 12 digs, helping St. Edward's hit .302 with a 47-28 advantage in kills.

The Hilltoppers played with conviction, quickly identifying gaps in West Texas A&M's defense and attacking before they closed. Quick sideouts kept the Lady Buffs from building momentum, while St. Edward's turned its own opportunities at the service line into decisive scoring runs.

The Hilltoppers shook off a 3-0 deficit in the opening set before MIA CLAY put them on the board. Clay and KAYLEN LEMBCKE kept St. Edward's within reach until KELLI FORDING and BEA ANGELES entered with the Hilltoppers trailing 6-4. Fording quickly got to work, giving St. Edward's its first lead, 9-8, with back-to-back kills.

St. Edward's broke a 10-10 tie with a 5-0 run fueled by pressure from CARRINGTON JAIMES at the service line and punctuated by her ace. Clay continued to hammer away, finishing with six kills in the set before Lembcke delivered the final point.

Morris helped engineer another decisive run in the second set. Trailing 10-9, the Hilltoppers rattled off six consecutive points behind a Fording sideout kill and five points on Morris' serve. Fording supplied three kills during the stretch, Lembcke added another, and Morris contributed an ace. St. Edward's stretched its lead to 19-11 and limited West Texas A&M to a .000 hitting percentage to take a two-set advantage.

Fording brought the service pressure in the third, following consecutive Clay kills with back-to-back aces to extend a 9-6 lead to 13-6. The Hilltoppers pushed the margin to 22-14, then weathered a late Lady Buff rally before Morris found Lembcke for the match-clinching kill.

Clay led all hitters with 17 kills, Fording added 13 kills and four aces, and Lembcke finished with 10 kills on .364 hitting. GRACE MCDONALD contributed five kills on 10 swings, while GISELLE OJEDA anchored the defense with 21 digs as St. Edward's held West Texas A&M to .143 hitting.

It was St. Edward's fifth consecutive victory and fourth consecutive sweep. After dropping their first set to St. Mary's, the Hilltoppers have now reeled off 15 consecutive sets. The 10th sweep of the season marks the most since St. Edward's had 10 in the 2021 season. 

The Hilltoppers improved to 15-9 overall and 10-4 in Lone Star Conference play, snapping a 15-match losing streak in the series. West Texas A&M fell to 12-13 overall and 7-7 in conference play.