ABILENE, Texas - McMurry dropped a cross-town road conference match to Hardin-Simmons in three sets on Friday.
The 25-10, 25-21, 25-12 loss puts the War Hawks at 4-7 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
Grace Fortune posted a double-double for the War Hawks, tallying 22 assists and 10 digs to go with two kills.
Layleah Williams-Gibson led the offense with eight kills.
Jalie Miller anchored the back row with a team-high 16 digs and added a service ace.
Hanna Rubis contributed across the board with seven kills, nine digs, and a service ace.
In the opening set, McMurry found themselves in an early hole before a kill from
Kenzie Jackson briefly narrowed the gap to 11-7. The home team subsequently pulled away for a 25-10 decision.
The War Hawks battled fiercely in the second set, keeping the score tight through the middle frames. A Rubis kill tied the match at 15-15, and Miller followed up with an ace to knot it again at 16-16. Trailing late, a kill from Williams-Gibson and an ace by Fortune brought McMurry within three points at 24-21 before ultimately falling in the set.
The final set saw McMurry fall behind 5-0 early. Williams-Gibson provided a late spark with consecutive service aces to make it 23-12, but the deficit proved too large to overcome.
Volleyball continues conference play at Schreiner on October 2nd at 5:00 p.m.
