BOX SCORE

BROWNWOOD, Texas- The Concordia Texas volleyball team battled to the very end and overcame a 2-0 deficit against Howard Payne to close out ASC play. Sophomore setter Selena Cooper secured a season-high 37 assist, and freshman Kelly Samano tallied a double-double inside Brownwood Colosseum on Thursday evening.

To start the first set a kill by Presley Bunting put the Tornados first on the board. Both teams then hit it off offensively scoring back-to-back until HPU extended the lead to claim set one. 

The Yellow Jackets sparked a 1-6 burst to begin the set two until the Tornados answered with two kills to cut into the deficit to bring the score 7-3. Sophomore middle blocker Camryn Parker blasted in a kill but would be the last points for CTX of set two to end it at 25-14. 

Both teams came off on fire offensively scoring back-and-forth points to start set three. Senior hitter Nicole Deering drilled in a kill to spark a 3-0 burst to put the Tornados on top 14-12. The competitive play between the two teams continued in a nail-biting set until a kill by senior hitter Rayna Pack claimed set three, 25-23.

Going into set four the offense continued to stay hot for both sides in another back-to-back scoring battle. Midway through the match Pack darted in a kill to spark 3-0 run for the Tornados to go up by one, 14-13. The hard-fought battle continued between the two teams until a kill by Deering secured the fourth set, 25-22.s

The last set of the match became the most competitive set with both teams scoring back and forth all the way up until near the end of the match to bring the score 18-18. Pack launched a kill to spark the final two points to pull CTX ahead for the victory.

The Tornados will continue action on the road to Apline Texas for their season finale against Sul Ross State University on Nov. 4th at 11 am.

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the CTX volleyball program, follow us on social media (@ctxathletics) and visit athletics.concordia.edu.