Volleyball team at the top of conference standings

The St. Edward’s University volleyball team pulled out two big wins last week and is currently ranked first in Heartland Conference standings.

On Thursday, St. Edward’s took on conference rival Newman, coming out with a victory in four sets.

In the first set, St. Edward’s took an early 7-1 lead over Newman, dominating throughout the set. Junior Lindy Luleff led the Hilltoppers with two aces and two kills. St. Edward’s went on to claim the first set 25-13.

Feeling the pressure, Newman took an early 11-2 lead in the second set, but the Hilltoppers fought back, eventually tightening the score to 15-12. However, the Jets had the upper hand throughout the whole set and came out with the 25-21 win, evening the score.

St. Edward’s came back strong in the third set, leading the Jets by a 13-6 score. Newman went on a five-point run, but the Hilltoppers were determined not to give up their lead. Luleff had the decisive kill that won the set for the Hilltoppers, 25-18.

St. Edward’s came out with another early 11-1 lead in the fourth set and kept their momentum going throughout the set, coming away with a 25-13 victory.

“After our game against Texas A&M-Kingsville, I think our team came to a collective decision that we weren’t going to lose anymore,” senior Stacie Robertson said. “We are unbeatable when our entire team has their minds set on winning.”

“We made too many errors early on,” head coach Sean Donahue said in a St. Edward’s press release. “They took advantage of those mistakes but luckily we were able to regroup. In the final sets we were serving really tough and that kept their defense on their toes.”

Coming off their victory on Thursday, the Hilltoppers then took on Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday, defeating the Lions in three sets.

In the first set, St. Edward’s bounced back from a Lion’s 5-2 lead, holding on to win the set 25-21.

The Hilltoppers and Lions battled point-for-point in the second set, but St. Edward’s came ahead victorious and won the set 25-21. Junior Whitney Rhoden secured the Hilltopper’s win with two kills at the end of the set, and sophomore Ale’tra Ware finished off the set with a kill.

St. Edward’s dominated the third set, leading 18-9. Arkansas-Fort Smith battled back, tying the score 22-22, but the Hilltoppers won the last three of four points, sweeping Arkansas-Fort Smith in three sets.

“Instead of worrying about the outcome of the game we just played and we kept in mind why we play,” Robertson said in response to the Arkansas-Fort Smith game.

Freshman Mary McNamara had 45 assists and nine digs in the Fort Smith game.

“It felt good to put up 45 assists; however, it was my teammates that do the majority of the work for me,” McNamara said. “I can not set without passes from my defense and I can’t get an assist if my hitter does not put the ball away, so all in all this was a team effort to get the win.”

The Hilltoppers are back in action on Oct. 21 when they take on UT-Permian Basin in Odessa.