BELTON, Texas - The volleyball postseason kicks off Thursday afternoon as the No. 5 seed McMurry War Hawks take on No. 4 seed Schreiner University in the quarterfinals of the 2026 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament. The match starts at 4:00 p.m. on November 12 at the Mayborn Campus Center, hosted by top seed Mary Hardin-Baylor.
McMurry (7-17, 2-8 ASC) heads into the postseason with momentum after finishing the regular season with a hard-fought five-set win at the University of Dallas last Saturday.
Hanna Rubis leads the War Hawks on offense with 287 kills (3.26 per set) and 320.5 points, and she also adds 249 digs on defense.
Madi Polasek is another key scorer on the outside with 183 kills (2.10 per set). In the middle,
Kenzie Jackson (160 kills, team-high 43 blocks) and
Layleah Williams-Gibson (154 kills, 41 blocks) hold things down, while setter
Grace Fortune runs the offense with 646 assists (7.88 per set) and 181 digs. On defense, McMurry relies on a strong back row led by
Lexi Nichols (276 digs, 30 aces) and
Jalie Miller (272 digs, 29 aces).
Schreiner (11-11, 4-6 ASC) comes to Belton ready to build on its regular-season wins over McMurry. The Mountaineers beat the War Hawks twice, winning 3-0 in Kerrville on October 2 and 3-1 in Abilene on October 24. In the rematch, McMurry showed it could challenge Schreiner, taking the third set and nearly winning the second. Schreiner's offense is led by outside hitter Giana Hilliard, who has 241 kills (3.01 per set) and 322 digs, with support from Jesse Garner (167 kills) and Mackenzie Strban (163 kills). Middle blocker Emma Frye adds 117 kills and a team-high 60 blocks, while setters Harlie Gallaspy (450 assists) and Gaby Torres (346 assists) run the offense in front of libero Maleyci Soliz (298 digs).
For McMurry to win and move on, the team needs to focus on strong passing and set an aggressive pace from the start. In their October 24 game, the War Hawks had 54 kills and matched Schreiner with 91 digs, showing they have the offense to challenge the Mountaineers. McMurry will need to keep up its offensive rhythm, while Jackson and Williams-Gibson put pressure at the net to slow down Hilliard and disrupt Schreiner's setters. If the War Hawks limit attack errors and take advantage of transition scoring, using the same defensive energy they showed late in the season, McMurry will be in prime position to flip the script and punch its ticket to Friday's semifinal against Mary Hardin-Baylor.
The winner will play tournament host and top seed Mary Hardin-Baylor in the ASC semifinals on Friday, November 13, at 6:30 p.m.
