ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Volleyball went 466 days without playing a home match inside Kimbrell Arena, but the War Hawks picked up where they left off as they opened the Spring 2021 season with a pair of 3-1 wins against Sul Ross State on Tuesday night.
In its American Southwest Conference opener, McMurry (2-0, 2-0) stumbled out of the gate, losing the first six points with three coming on service aces. Sul Ross (0-2, 0-2) went on to steal the first set and the early momentum, but McMurry powered back to win six of the next seven sets of the double-header and sent the limited capacity crowd home happy.
Dating back to last season, McMurry has now won eight straight home matches, with the regular season finale also resulting in a win over the Lobos.
The War Hawks have now defeated Sul Ross in 22 straight matches, with the last loss coming in 2006. In that span, McMurry has lost only six sets.
GAME 1 – McMurry 3, Sul Ross 1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-21)
Summary: Junior Tyler Richardson had a career-high 13 kills, while senior Kianni Mitchell fell just two short of her career-best with 10 in a 3-1 win to open the season. Sophomore Adile Leal had her first career double-double with 18 digs and 10 assists, while Brynn Wilson added a team-high 11 assists for the game. As a team, McMurry had a stunning 9-1 advantage in blocks, led by senior Megan Martinez with six. The War Hawks also recorded a 46-39 advantage in kills.
Set 1: The War Hawks appeared out of sync early on, falling behind 8-1 with four service aces allowed early on. McMurry struggled to recover from the deficit, eventually falling behind 21-10 thanks to a 3-0 run on two kills and a service ace. Junior Tyler Richardson and freshman Madison Cuellar tried to spark some life with a pair of kills, but the rally fell short 25-16.
Set 2: Maybe the most entertaining set of match one, the second set brought forth five lead changes. McMurry took an early 4-0 lead on a set error, a kill by senior Kianni Mitchell and two service aces by senior Brynn Wilson. Sul Ross won the next five points to go back ahead, starting a see-saw battle the rest of the way. Tied 18-18, McMurry won seven of the next eight points. In the run, senior Megan Martinez had two kills, while Wilson and Cuellar each had one.
Set 3: McMurry found its groove in the third frame, taking an early 11-4 lead en route to a set win. Down 23-10, the Lobos managed a 3-0 run to stay alive, but the War Hawks won the set on a kill by freshman Aubrie Sibley and a service error on the clinching point. Six players had kills in the set for McMurry, led by Richardson with three. Furthermore, five players had at least one assist in the set, with sophomore Adile Leal totaling three.
Set 4: The War Hawks took a 4-3 lead and would never trail again, clinching the match in set four. Sully would tie the set three times, but could not regain the advantage in a 25-21 setback. Richardson had four kills in the set, while Cuellar scored both the first and last point of the set with a pair of kills. Also, freshmen Bailey Carlson and Brooke Cox each recorded their first collegiate kills in the set.
GAME 2 – McMurry 3, Sul Ross 1 (25-18, 25-13, 20-25, 27-25)
Summary: McMurry dominated the first two sets and held off a surging Lobos team in the fourth set to win 3-1 in the nightcap. In a more dominant effort for match two, McMurry had a 65-44 advantage in kills, including a 33-14 kill advantage in the first two sets.
Leaders: Senior Brynn Wilson had a phenomenal showing all around, headlining the second match with eight kills, 28 assists and 12 digs for a near triple-double. The kill and assist numbers both marked career-highs for the senior, in her second year donning the Maroon and White. Four players had double-digit kill numbers, led by freshman Kaylie Vasil led the team with 15 kills on the night of her collegiate debut. Megan Martinez and Madison Cuellar added 11, while Kianni Mitchell racked up 10. Cuellar also had a game-high 26 digs, while Leal contributed 19.
Set 1: McMurry had the early 5-4 advantage in the set, and from there went on a 10-0 run sparked by three straight kills and a four service aces from Madison Cuellar. The War Hawks then went on to lead 24-13, but Sully struck for five more points to stay alive. Junior setter Myranda Salcedo had the final point to clinch the victory.
Set 2: The War Hawks led the whole way in the second frame, turning a 7-5 advantage into a 16-5 advantage with a 9-0 run. Sully never recovered, dropping the second set 25-13. McMurry scored 19 of its 25 points on kills, led by Wilson and Mitchell with four each. Cuellar, Vasil and Martinez added three kills each, while Aubrey Sibley added two.
Set 3: With momentum wearing maroon, Sul Ross battled to stay alive in a tight set three. Neither team led by more than four points up until the Lobos were up 18-14. Sul Ross then took a 20-14 lead on a service ace and a McMurry attack error. Later in the set, Vasil helped McMurry stay alive with a successful attack from a Brynn Wilson assist to make it 23-20. Sully had two final kills by Kyleigh Mulanax and Isabella Ruiz to clinch the point.
Set 4: After forcing a fourth set, the Lobos were primed to take McMurry to the finish and were one point away from winning the set. The frame went back-and-forth, eventually ending up in a 19-19 tie. After a few kills to pull back ahead, Sul Ross took advantage of a service error by McMurry and led 24-22 with the set on the line. With their backs against the wall, senior Kianni Mitchell recorded back-to-back kills to re-tie the game and electrify the crowd. Sul Ross went back up 25-24 on a kill by Isabella Ruiz, but Vasil tied the game again with a kill on the other end. Bailey Carlson had a clutch serve slap the floor past diving Lobos to put her team in a position to win. Mitchell would be the hero, smacking the final kill to clinch the set and the match.
UP NEXT
Next week, the War Hawks will head to Belton, Texas to take on defending West Division champion Mary Hardin-Baylor with first serve set for 5 p.m.
