SAN ANGELO, Texas — St. Edward's volleyball made a statement in its return to the Lone Star Conference Tournament, overwhelming fifth-seeded Midwestern State with a relentless, multifaceted attack to complete a three-match season sweep of the Mustangs with a 25-16, 22-25, 25-11, 25-21 victory in Thursday's quarterfinal.
The fourth-seeded Hilltoppers (18-10) advanced to the LSC Tournament semifinals in emphatic fashion, putting down 62 kills from six players who each recorded at least eight, with LSC Setter of the Year
ALTHEA MORRIS orchestrating the attack with 52 assists.
The victory completed a season-long progression against Midwestern State that offered a snapshot of St. Edward's transformation under second-year head coach Jeremy Garcia. The Hilltoppers needed five sets to defeat the Mustangs in their first meeting, swept them in the regular-season rematch, and returned to San Angelo with their most balanced offensive performance of the series.
KELLI FORDING led the attack with 15 kills, while
GRACE MCDONALD added 12 and
KAYLEN LEMBCKE finished with 11.
CARRINGTON JAIMES was nearly flawless with eight kills on 16 swings without an error, and
KARA WYNN added eight kills in just two sets, giving St. Edward's another weapon as the match progressed.
St. Edward's established control immediately, opening the match with a 12-3 run built on its ability to pressure Midwestern State from the service line and turn defensive opportunities into points.
BEA ANGELES delivered consecutive aces during a five-point service run that stretched an early 4-2 advantage to 8-2.
GISELLE OJEDA followed with another productive rotation, helping the Hilltoppers build a 12-3 lead as Fording, Jaimes, McDonald, Lembcke, and
MIA CLAY all contributed to the attack.
The Hilltoppers continued to spread the workload, getting kills from six different players in the opening set. Midwestern State struggled to establish any sustained offensive rhythm against St. Edward's serve and defense, hitting .135 while the Hilltoppers put down 15 kills to take the opener 25-16.
Midwestern State responded in the second, finding more success through Nyle Mathis, Isabella Dickens, and TaNia Penn while setter Macy Scheer began creating cleaner opportunities for her hitters.
St. Edward's continued to generate offense, matching the Mustangs with 15 kills, but Midwestern State gradually seized control after the teams traded points throughout the first half of the set. The Mustangs hit .367 in the frame, their most efficient stretch of the match, and capitalized on six Hilltopper attack errors to even the match with a 25-22 victory.
Rather than allowing the momentum to carry over, St. Edward's reasserted itself with its most complete set of the afternoon.
The Hilltoppers opened the third with another early surge, building a 9-4 advantage behind their balanced attack and another Ojeda service ace. Fording then took over from the service line, delivering consecutive aces during a seven-point run that turned a 12-6 advantage into a commanding 17-6 lead.
With Midwestern State struggling to get into its offense, Morris continued to find openings across the front row. Jaimes, Lembcke, McDonald, Fording, and Wynn all contributed kills as the Hilltoppers finished with 16 on .282 hitting.
The defensive pressure was equally decisive. St. Edward's held the Mustangs to four kills against six errors on 32 attacks for a negative-.063 hitting percentage, turning what had been a competitive match into a 25-11 third-set rout.
Midwestern State recovered enough to challenge the Hilltoppers in the fourth, but St. Edward's showed the composure and offensive variety that have defined its late-season surge.
The Hilltoppers built an early advantage behind kills from Fording and Lembcke, with McDonald and Wynn combining for a block as St. Edward's established a 5-2 lead.
Midwestern State continued to push back, narrowing the margin to a single point several times before finally drawing even at 18-18 on consecutive kills from Dickens.
With the set hanging in the balance, Morris turned to her most established offensive weapon. Fording delivered consecutive kills around a Lembcke attack error to give St. Edward's a 20-19 advantage. After a Midwestern State service error and another Mathis kill, Wynn put down a kill to restore a two-point cushion.
Wynn struck again to bring up match point at 24-20, and after Penn extended the match with a kill, Lembcke delivered the final blow off a Morris assist to send the Hilltoppers into the semifinals.
The final sequence reflected the versatility that carried St. Edward's throughout the afternoon. Fording provided steady production on the outside, Lembcke remained a reliable scoring option, and Wynn emerged as a difference-maker after entering the match, finishing with eight kills on .263 hitting and three block assists in just two sets.
McDonald supplied another strong performance in the middle with 12 kills and five block assists, while Jaimes hit .500 with eight kills. Clay added eight kills, giving Morris a wealth of attacking options throughout the match.
Ojeda anchored the back row with 17 digs and two aces, while
BELLA BRICENO added 11 digs and
IVY WACLAWCZYK collected 10. Fording and Angeles also finished with two aces each as St. Edward's held a 7-1 advantage from the service line.
The victory marked another step in a remarkable turnaround for a St. Edward's program predicted to finish 11th in the LSC preseason poll. After missing the conference tournament by one match in Garcia's first season, the Hilltoppers entered this postseason as the fourth seed and opened it by defeating a Midwestern State team they had already beaten twice during the regular season.
St. Edward's now advances to the LSC Tournament semifinals, continuing its pursuit of the conference championship and a potential first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011.
