Mary Hardin-Baylor sweeps Schreiner in ASC opener; tougher test awaits at East Texas Baptist

BELTON, Texas — Mary Hardin-Baylor swept Schreiner 25-17, 25-20, 25-21 on Wednesday to open American Southwest Conference play, with the Cru’s offense doing most of the damage in front of 602 fans.

Mary Hardin-Baylor improved to 10-3 overall and 1-0 in the ASC. Schreiner fell to 6-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

The gap showed up most clearly in hitting efficiency. Mary Hardin-Baylor hit .333 as a team, piling up 47 kills against just 10 errors on 111 swings. Schreiner, by contrast, hit just .096, managing only 28 kills against 17 errors on a bloated 115 attempts. The Cru also won the assist battle 43-26 and out-blocked Schreiner 17-6 in combined block assists and solos.

Mary Hardin-Baylor leaders

Lilli Sandoval led all players with 12 kills and a match-high 14.0 points, hitting .265 on a team-high 34 attempts. Ava Ribakovs was the Cru’s most efficient hitter, going 11 for 15 with just two errors for a .600 clip and 12.0 points. Natalie Hughes and Addison Yates each added seven kills, with Yates hitting .333, and Allie Thompson chipped in six kills to go with a team-high seven block assists. Chloe Brandt ran the offense with 21 assists.

Schreiner leaders

Giana Hilliard again paced Schreiner’s attack, finishing with nine kills and a team-high 11.5 points, though she hit just .143 on a match-high 35 attempts. She also led the Mountaineers with 11 digs and served two aces. Mackenzie Strban and Ashlyn Willburn each added five kills, with Willburn hitting .143; Jesse Garner also had five kills, hitting a team-best .250 on the night, and Emma Frye added four kills at the same .250 clip.

Gaby Torres ran the offense with 13 assists, and Harlie Gallaspy added 12 to go with a team-high three service aces. Maleyci Soliz led Schreiner defensively with 12 digs.

Box score

	Sets	K	E	TA	Pct	Ast	SA	Dig	Pts
Schreiner	0	28	17	115	.096	26	7	47	38.0
Mary Hardin-Baylor	3	47	10	111	.333	43	5	61	61.0

Series and what’s next

The loss extends a rough recent stretch for Schreiner against Mary Hardin-Baylor, which now leads the all-time series 18-14 and has beaten the Mountaineers in nine of the last 10 meetings between the programs.

Schreiner doesn’t get a break to regroup. The Mountaineers face a tough assignment Saturday at East Texas Baptist, ranked No. 12 nationally in NCAA Division III — a significant step up in competition just three days after the conference opener.