RICHARDSON, Texas – McMurry University Volleyball saw its season come to a close Thursday evening, as the War Hawks fell to Concordia Texas, 25-23, 21-25, 22-25, 18-25, in the quarterfinals of the American Southwest Conference Championship.
The War Hawks started the match strong, picking up a win in the first set. McM tallied at least 13 kills in all four sets, but was extremely efficient in set one, hitting .344. They hit .171 in both the second and third sets and .239 in set four.
McMurry fell behind 8-4 in the first set, but used a 5-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. It was a back-and-forth affair, before a 4-0 spurt by the War Hawks gave them a 20-17 lead. Concordia tied it one last time at 21, before a kill by sophomore right side hitter Tyler Richardson gave McM the lead back.
A ball handling error gave McM a twopoint lead, and after a kill by CTX, senior outside hitter Jordyn Burnell gave McM set point with a kill. Concordia got back within one, but McM secured the set on a Tornado attack error.
Burnell had one of her best matches of the season, recording a double-double by tallying a team-high 16 kills to go along with 18 digs.
Concordia jumped out to an early lead in set two, as McMurry battled back to pull within 12-11. The War Hawks could never get closer than two points throughout the rest of the set as Concordia evened the match at a set apiece.
Set three saw the teams trade the first dozen points, before the Tornados broke through for a 6-0 run. Freshman outside hitter Sharanda Anderson ended the run with one of her 10 kills, as McMurry scored three straight.
McMurry pulled even at 18-18 after a 4-0 run, and things stayed tied up to 20-20. Concordia scored three straight, but McM wasn't going to let the set slip away easily, as junior middle blocker Megan Martinez and Anderson each tallied a kill. However, the Tornados got a kill and an ace to end the set and take a 2-1 lead.
The War Hawks tried to slow the CTX momentum by grabbing the early lead in the fourth set, but Concordia took the lead at 7-6 as part of a 4-0 run and never looked back to close out the match.
Senior right side hitter Justice McGowan joined Burnell and Anderson with double-digit kills, recording 10. Martinez hit .444 on her way to eight kills.
Anderson gave McM two players with double-doubles, as she recorded 13 digs to go with her 10 kills. Freshman libero Adile Leal led the McM back line with 26 digs, a career high.
Junior setters Lauryn Davis and Brynn Warnack each passed out more than 20 assists, with Davis handing out 23 and Warnack 21. Davis and Warnack collected eight and nine digs, respectively, as well.
The teams were nearly even in every statistical category, however, the Tornados held a 10-3 advantage in service aces.
McMurry's season ends with an 18-10 overall record.
