MARSHALL, Texas - McMurry split a pair of road matches at the ETBU Tournament on Saturday, outlasting LeTourneau in a five-set thriller before falling in four sets to Hendrix College.
Match 1: McMurry 3, LeTourneau 2 (20-25, 25-20, 28-26, 24-26, 15-13)
Hanna Rubis produced a massive double-double with 14 kills and 19 digs to pace the War Hawks, while adding four service aces.
Layleah Williams-Gibson led the attack with a team-high 18 kills.
Kenzie Jackson and
Madi Polasek added 12 and 10 kills, respectively, to round out a balanced offensive effort.
Grace Fortune was crucial in running the offense with 52 assists.
Jalie Miller was everywhere on the back row, anchoring the defense with 28 digs and adding three aces.
The third set saw back-and-forth marathon action until a final kill by Williams-Gibson clinched the 28-26 win. In the deciding fifth set, Williams-Gibson again delivered the final blow with a clutch kill to seal the 15-13 match victory.
Match 2: Hendrix College 3, McMurry 1 (19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 12-25)
Rubis once again paced the offense with 15 kills and narrowly missed another double-double with nine digs. Polasek chipped in 11 kills while Williams-Gibson tallied 10.
A combined block by Jackson and Polasek secured the 25-22 second-set victory for the War Hawks to briefly even the match, but the Hendrix attack rallied to take the final two frames.
Fortune added another 38 assists to her daily total, and Miller collected 16 digs.
Lexi Nichols contributed 13 digs and fired off three aces defensively.
Volleyball returns to the court September 22nd to host Dallas Christian College for "Jersey Night" at 6:00 p.m. in Kimbrell Arena.
