East Texas Baptist rallies past Schreiner volleyball in five-set thriller

MARSHALL, Texas — No. 12 East Texas Baptist survived a furious Schreiner rally to beat the Mountaineers 25-17, 25-16, 21-25, 24-26, 15-6 in an American Southwest Conference match Saturday morning at Ornelas Gymnasium.

East Texas Baptist improved to 7-3 overall. Schreiner fell to 6-5 overall and 0-2 in ASC play.

Schreiner’s start was rough — the Mountaineers hit just .176 in the first set and dipped to -.026 in the second as the Tigers built a two-set lead. But Schreiner turned things around behind a .226 third set and a .382 fourth set, forcing a decisive fifth. Trailing 6-1 out of the final media timeout in the fourth, Schreiner reeled off a late surge to escape with a 26-24 win and push the match the distance. The rally proved to be the high point of the day: East Texas Baptist controlled the fifth set from the opening kill, building a 6-1 lead it never relinquished.

East Texas Baptist out-hit Schreiner as a team, .236 to .167, with 63 kills against 24 errors compared to Schreiner’s 50 kills and 24 errors.

East Texas Baptist leaders

Lara Hornsby led all players with 16 kills and a match-high 19.0 points, hitting .182 on 44 attempts with three block solos. Anita Hancock was the Tigers’ most efficient hitter, going 13 for 20 with just two errors for a .550 clip and 18.5 points. Katherine Server added 12 kills at .348, and McKinzie Riley chipped in nine. Claire Stewart ran the East Texas Baptist offense with 28 assists, and Sydney Temple added 23 assists to go with a team-high four aces.

Schreiner leaders

Mackenzie Strban and Jesse Garner each led Schreiner with 13 kills; Garner was the more efficient of the two, hitting .345 on 29 attempts for a team-high 14.5 points, while Strban hit .211 on 38 swings for 13.0 points. Giana Hilliard added 12 kills and a team-high 16.5 points, along with 13 digs and three block solos. Ashlyn Willburn chipped in five kills.

Harlie Gallaspy ran the offense with 31 assists, and Gaby Torres added 15. Maleyci Soliz led Schreiner defensively with eight digs.

Box score

	Sets	K	E	TA	Pct	Ast	Ace	Dig	Pts
Schreiner	2	50	24	156	.167	49	4	44	63.0
East Texas Baptist	3	63	24	165	.236	63	9	55	84.0