Story By: St. Edward's Athletics
The Hilltoppers split their final two matches of the Lady Buff Classis on Saturday. Against East Central, St. Edward’s swept the Lady Tigers in three games, 25-17, 25-10, and 25-17. Facing Central Oklahoma in the wrap up of the tournament, the Hilltoppers fell in five close matches, 25-27, 25-12, 25-12, 21-25, and 12-15.
For the first match of the day St. Edward’s (2-2) defeated East Central (0-4) in three games.
Scoring first in the first game were the Lady Tigers who took the lead at 12-7. After a quick timeout, the Hilltoppers regained control and went on a 10-2 run. St. Edward’s would go on and score the final seven points, winning the game at 25-17.
The Hilltoppers carried their momentum into the second game with a commanding lead of 9-2. East Central began to fight back, but with St. Edward’s going on a final run of 14-2 the game was over with the Hilltoppers coming out on top with a dominating win 25-10.
Similar to the first two games, St. Edward’s stayed strong by taking advantage of 11 miscues by the Lady Tigers in the third game. Whitney Rhoden (Junior, Friendswood, Texas) recording the final kill for the Hilltoppers who won the game at 25-17.
“We started the game off slow, but were able to pick up our game to win the match,” head coach Sean Donahue said.
Leaders for St. Edward’s were Chelsea Barsamian (Senior, Arlington, Texas) and Mary McNamara (Freshman, The Woodlands, Texas) who had 18 and 11 assists, respectively. Kill leaders for the Hilltoppers were Pam Osborn (Senior, San Antonio, Texas) with eight, followed by Rhoden with six.
For East Central Shayla May tallied 22 assist with teammate Noelle Cope having seven kills. Dig leader for the match was Megan Kimak with 10.
St. Edward’s final match of the tournament was against Central Oklahoma (3-1) losing in five games.
In the first game, the Hilltoppers battled to keep the score close at 11-10 until the Lady Bronchos started to break away with a lead. St. Edward’s would regain composure tying the game at 24-24 before Central Oklahoma would take the win 27-25.
For the second game, the Hilltoppers would carry their momentum from the previous game helping them to an early 8-1 lead. St. Edward’s would continue to dominate each rally with a substantial lead of 19-9. Taking advantage of three-straight errors by the Lady Bronchos, the Hilltoppers would win 25-12.
The third game results would resemble the second game with St. Edward’s controlling most of the game. Taking another early lead at 19-4, the Hilltoppers did not look back. The game would end with a solid block by Osborn and Courtney Trevino (Junior, Austin, Texas) and St. Edward’s winning 25-12.
For the Hilltoppers, the fourth game proved to be a much tougher battle. After finding themselves down 7-2, St. Edward’s would have to rally back to even the score out at 19-19 late in the game. The Lady Bronchos would go on and win the game 25-21.
In the fifth game, the Hilltoppers, down 6-0, would have to come together and answer back. Ashley Vander Hey (Junior, Cypress, Texas) and Trevino did just that by combining for seven kills in the final plays of the game. St. Edward’s efforts came up short when Central Oklahoma won at 15-12.
“Their team played amazing defense,” Donahue said. “We were playing at high levels at times during the match, but we just need to find consistency. Luckily, the season is not a sprint but a marathon.”
Collecting her second double-double for the season was Vander Hey with 10 kills and 20 digs. Trevino was the kill leader for the match with 22 and a hitting percentage of .224. Michelle Hundt (Sophomore, Double Oak, Texas) would lead the match with 38 digs, while Barsamian would add 46 assist for St. Edward’s.
For Central Oklahoma, Fleming Smurthwaite would have 39 assists and Ginger Gowen had a team high 26 digs.
The Hilltoppers will return to the hilltop September 10-11, where they will be hosting the St. Edward’s Volleyball Classic. The Hilltoppers will be facing off against Northwest Missouri State at 4 p.m. and Missouri Southern State at 8 p.m. on Friday, and on Saturday against Abilene Christian at 6 p.m.