ABILENE, Texas - McMurry fought through a tightly contested home conference match Tuesday evening, falling in three sets to Mary Hardin-Baylor at Kimbrell Arena.
The War Hawks dropped the decision in straight sets, 20-25, 14-25, and 22-25.
Hanna Rubis paced the McMurry attack at the net with a team-high nine kills, while also providing eight digs and two solo blocks.
Madi Polasek followed closely with seven kills, and
Layleah Williams-Gibson turned in a solid all-around performance with five kills, one solo block, and a service ace.
Kenzie Jackson added four kills, while
Rylie Patterson and
Haley McCallick each contributed two kills.
Allison Montoya and
Yasmine DeLaGarza split setting duties to orchestrate the offense, tallying 13 and 12 assists, respectively. DeLaGarza also added six digs on the back line.
Defensively,
Jalie Miller anchored the War Hawks with a match-high 16 digs.
Lexi Nichols gave McMurry another double-digit defensive outing with 11 digs, plus a service ace and a kill, while Polasek chipped in four digs.
The opening frame was competitive from the jump, featuring four ties and two lead changes before Mary Hardin-Baylor pulled away late for the 25-20 win. After the visitors took charge in the second set for a 25-14 decision, McMurry regrouped and pushed Mary Hardin-Baylor to the limit in the third set. The War Hawks matched the opposition point for point through five ties and a lead change, battling deep into the frame before coming up just short at 25-22.
Volleyball returns to Kimbrell Arena on October 9th to continue conference play against East Texas Baptist at 6:00 p.m.
