GEORGETOWN, Texas – Southwestern opened the match with a huge run and easily defeated St. Thomas University 25-13, 25-20, 25-14.

The Pirates were sharp at the start as Andie Alford served eight straight points, giving SU a huge lead early. St. Thomas never did recover and couldn't get any closer as Southwestern cruised to the 25-13 set one win.

The Celts responded in a big way, however, and put the Pirates in the hole 16-10 midway through the second set. SU never panicked and made quick work of evening the count 18-18 on Kaitlyn Foster's kills. Southwestern continued to push points and used a 14-4 run to close out the second set with a 25-20 win.

Southwestern returned to their ways and jumped out to a 4-0 lead that they never lost, putting the final nail in the coffin in the third set with a 25-14 win.

SU hit just .174 as a team but held the Celts to .026 for the match. Foster led the Pirates with 17 kills and a .378 attack percentage while Macey Pool added in 15 kills. Sydney Rochelle posted 39 assists in the win. Defensively, Pool led with 22 digs and Kaitlyn Corbett added in 19.

The Pirates improve to 17-8 on the year after the non-conference match and remain in non-conference play as they face Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio on Thursday at 7 p.m.