IRVING, Texas – McMurry University Volleyball picked up its first win of the season Saturday, wrapping up non-conference tournament play this weekend at the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas.

The War Hawks (1-3) won their first match of the day over Arlington Baptist (0-4) at noon, but were unable to defeat tournament host University of Dallas (4-1) to close the evening. Both matches ended in 3-1 finals.

Over the weekend, senior Tyler Richardson led the way with 40 kills for 3.08 per set. Fellow senior Myranda Salcedo split setting duties with freshman Ashlyn Quillan, as Salcedo finished with 75 assists and Quillan followed with 50.

Defensively, junior Adile Leal led the way with 61 digs, while sophomore Kaylie Vasil added 47 and a pair of blocks. Richardson had the most blocks this weekend with eight, while senior Megan Martinez and sophomore Madison Cuellar each had eight service aces.


GAME 1 – McMurry 3, Arlington Baptist 1 (23-25, 25-10, 25-20, 25-14)

Summary: The War Hawks won its fourth straight game over Arlington Baptist with a 3-1 win on Saturday. AB (0-4) took the first set in a close game, but McMurry erupted down the stretch to outscore the Patriots 75-44 in the last three sets to win.

The War Hawks had a stellar 43-29 advantage in kills and recorded 16 aces. Kaylie Vasil played hero with 12 kills, 17 digs and five aces. Freshman Ashlyn Quillan was the primary setter with 17 assists.

Play-by-play stats were unavailable for this match.


GAME 2 – Dallas 3, McMurry 1 (22-25, 25-27, 25-22, 19-25)

Summary: The final match of the weekend was close all the way through, but the home-standing Crusaders ended up on the right end of three sets to earn the victory. After dropping the first two sets by three points and two points, respectively, McMurry battled back to win a tight third set and stay alive. Unfortunately, Dallas had more in the tank near the end of the fourth set to end a tight match.

Stats were fairly even across the board, with Dallas owning a slight 49-44 advantage in kills and a 68-61 advantage in points. Vasil led McMurry again in kills with 11, while Adile Leal had a game-high 20 digs. Myranda Salcedo had 19 assists and Bri Garcia added a season-high five blocks.

Perhaps the turning point for Dallas came in the first set, as McMurry was the early aggressor with a 21-14 lead. The Crusaders scored 10 straight points to set up match point, but a service error broke the streak. The final kill came on the next point, giving Dallas the momentum.

Both teams had substantial runs in the second set, but it would be McMurry that found itself ahead 24-22 – thanks to a 5-0 run on kills by Tyler Richardson, Jacee Dinkins and Addison Kimberling. On the ropes, Dallas responded once again to win a 27-25 thriller.

McMurry did not give up, trailing 2-0, but instead finished the third set strong to stay alive. Down 21-20, Dinkins recorded a kill to tie it and was followed by kills from Ashlyn Quillan and Bri Garcia. After Dallas made it 23-22, McMurry closed the bracket with a kill from Allissa Rodriguez and an attack error on the other end.

The War Hawks battled in the fourth frame, arriving at a 17-17 tie, but Dallas inched away with a 5-0 run and were able to close the match.


UP NEXT 
American Southwest Conference play begins on Tuesday, as McMurry travels down to Brownwood to face Howard Payne on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 6 p.m.