ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University volleyball received a bit of a scare from visiting Howard Payne University, but was able to right itself in time to emerge with a 3-2 win. The War Hawks (5-2) were able to keep the Yellow Jackets (0-6) winless, taking the match by scores of 25-18, 23-25, 25-27, 25-10, 15-7 at Kimbrell Arena.
 
 Senior right-side hitter Catherine Heath led all players with a career-high 19 kills in the match. In 35 attack attempts, Heath had a .486 attack average.  Four of her kills came in the crucial fifth set.
 
Heath also had a hand in five blocks.  Teammate Katy Headrick had a match-leading six blocks, three solo and three assisted. Headrick contributed nine kills of her own, to go along with two aces and six digs. Audrey Sanders had four assisted blocks.
 
Senior Bethany Holub and Elisha Libhart were the only other War Hawks with double-digit kill totals.  Holub knocked down 12 and Libhart 10 kills, four of which were in the fifth set.
 
Holub had a game-high 20 digs, while also serving up three aces, with defensive specialist Odalis Rodriguez serving up a team-best four aces on her own.
 
Morgan Thomas' 22 assists topped either team, with Madison Fatheree giving off 17 assists of her own. Thomas had a nice match on the defensive half with 18 digs, as did libero Jessica Cory with 12 digs.
 
As a team, McMurry hit .207 (60 kills, 26 errors, 164 attempts) compared to a .060 attack percentage by the Yellow Jackets (39 kills, 29 errors, 167 attempts).
 
The War Hawks will go for their third-consecutive win at home this Friday, hosting Sul Ross State University at 7 p.m.