ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Volleyball had no issues dispatching Arlington Baptist University Tuesday night in Kimbrell Arena, sweeping the Patriots 25-12, 25-11, 25-15, on Senior Night.
The Patriots made things interesting in the third set, using a 6-0 run to take a 13-9 lead. But the War Hawks wanted to send the Senior Night crowd out in style, using an 11-0 and eventually 16-2 run to close out the match. Senior outside hitter Jasmine Jones and senior right side hitter Madison Reed each had four kills during the run.
McMurry hit a match-high .378 in the set while racking up 20 kills.
The War Hawks were never challenged in the first two sets, winning each by double-digits, only trailing briefly at the beginning of the first set. McMurry used a 10-1 run in the first set and a 9-0 run in the second to pull away. They capped the first set with a 6-0 run, aided by three Patriot attack errors. The War Hawks hit .348 in the second set, and held ABU to -.042.
With the match in hand, the War Hawks were able to empty their bench in their final home game.
"Everyone got to bring something to the table, everyone got to cheer for one another, everyone got to be excited and just have fun on our home court," Reed said.
For the match, McMurry hit .330 while holding the Patriots .043. The War Hawks also tallied six service aces.
Jones led the War Hawks with 11 kills and hit .429. Junior middle blockers Justice McGowan and Kianni Mitchell each added nine kills. Mitchell hit .571 on the evening and McGowan hit .400, respectively.
Defensively, senior libero Odalis Rodriguez led the War Hawks with 14 digs, the only War Hawk in double figures. Senior defensive specialist Christian Brown chipped in with nine. McGowan led McMurry at the net with three solo blocks and three assisted blocks.
Junior setter Emarie James set up the offense with 20 assists, and sophomore setter Lauryn Davis pitched in with 17.
McMurry honored its five seniors after the game: Brown, Jones, Rodriguez, Reed and manager Alexis Barlow.
The War Hawks gave their fans all they had in their final home game of the season.
"It was so much fun because everyone knew it was out last time to be together, so we just knew that we were going to go all out no matter what and enjoy all these memories for this last time we were here," Reed said.
McMurry concludes the regular season and American Southwest Conference play Saturday at Concordia Texas at 2 p.m.
