BOX SCORE

Austin, Texas – Bianca Martinez and Shelbi Chipman each registered double-doubles for the second straight match, but Hardin-Simmons was able to rally from behind to defeat Concordia University Texas in American Southwest Conference volleyball action by a 3-1 score (17-25, 25-22, 25-13, 27-25) on Saturday, Sept. 17 at the CTX Field House.

Concordia started off strong by never trailing in the first set and winning it by an eight-point margin. With the score tied at 2-2, the Tornados rattled off five straight points and forced the Cowgirls to burn a timeout. Martinez set up Kalynn White for two kills during the stretch. The Cowgirls got three straight points following the break to make it 7-5 and got a kill from Christine Sas to trim the deficit to 12-10, but the Tornados responded with five straight to go ahead by seven with Chipman and Alison Pringle combining for three kills and a block. Concordia, which posted a .300 hitting percentage in the opening set and forced its opponent to hit at a .103 clip, was able to triumph on a block by Stacy Manship and Emma Clifford.

After trailing 4-2 to start the second set, the Tornados took control again and went ahead 5-4 on a White kill before eventually ending a 9-1 run with White and Clifford combining for a block. Trailing 11-5, the Cowgirls, however, started to fight back and tied the score up three times before breaking through and taking a 20-19 lead on a solo block by Morgan Watts. A service error by Ashley Babineaux tied it up at 20, but the Cowgirls were able to score the next two points to go ahead for good and take the set.

Hardin-Simmons (7-2, ASC 2-0), which won the American Southwest Conference Tournament last season and has only lost to top-25 programs this year, carried the momentum they got at the end of the second set into the third one to win it easily by a 25-13 decision. Concordia grabbed its only lead in the frame at 6-5 on a White kill before the visitors responded with a 15-5 run to go ahead 20-11 and force the Tornados to call a timeout. A kill by Madison Reyes followed by two service aces by Molli Woen and a combined block from Hannah Hornsby and Tori Martinez to end the set put the Cowgirls in the driver's seat.

The fourth set featured eight ties, two lead changes and came down to the wire. The Cowgirls went ahead by five points on six occasions before the Tornados clawed back from a 22-17 deficit late in the frame by scoring five straight points to knot the set at 22 all with Martinez serving. Hardin-Simmons followed with a pair of kills from Belle Shaver and Madison Reyes to take a 24-22, but Concordia did not give up as Pringle and White each recorded a kill and combined for a block to give the hosts a 25-24 advantage. Hardin-Simmons, however, came out of an ensuing timeout and answered with three straight points by getting a kill from three different points. Reyes finished a pass from Owen on match point to give the Cowgirls a two-point, 27-25 victory.

Concordia was paced by double-double efforts from Martinez and Chipman. Martinez had 26 assists and 11 digs, while Chipman finished with 10 kills and 12 digs. White and Jackson each posted double figures with 16 kills and 18 digs, respectively, and Samantha Ladewig added 13 assists and five digs.

Hardin-Simmons was led by Reyes and Sas with each player registering a double-double of the kills-digs variety. Reyes finished with 15 kills and 14 digs, while Sas had 14 kills and 17 digs. Kaitlin Mitchell added a team-best 25 assists and Morgan Watts had a strong all-around game with four kills and three service aces to go along with seven digs.
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Hardin-Simmons (7-2, ASC 2-0) def. Concordia (4-4, ASC 0-2), 3-1 (17-25, 25-22, 25-13, 27-25)