GEORGETOWN, TEXAS - Southwestern Volleyball made the trip to Marshall, Texas to battle the East Texas Baptist University Tigers in a one-off non-conference matchup on Friday evening.

Southwestern had just come off a big conference win against the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs on Wednesday night and looked to gain more momentum against the Tigers on Friday. ETBU currently leads the American Southwestern Conference in the standings and held a 17-3 record coming into the contest. 

It took 26 points for the Pirates to take the first set from the Tigers tallying 16 kills off 50 total attempts. But Southwestern was unable to maintain that offensive power in the second set with just 12 kills. The Pirates hit well statistically in the second but were unable to defend against the Tiger offense, falling in set two 25-16.

Putting on a better defensive performance in the third, the Pirates took set three by a 25-22 margin, and the effort was led by Lily McWhorter and Erica Otto, who both went for six and five block assists on the night respectively. 

The Tigers came fighting back in the final two sets of the contest and were able to defeat the Pirates, winning by a combined 40 - 19 point margin in the fourth and fifth sets. 

Coach Don Flora gives his thoughts on the Pirate's non-conference tilt. 

"Having opportunities to compete at a high level is why this program goes to work each day in the gym. Taking control of these opportunities is key to what this program is all about."

"The belief of how we, as a team, earn key points in a tight match is an area of development for our team. We give ETBU and their attackers credit for the level of effort they produced."

Southwestern will battle Texas Lutheran yet again next Tuesday, October 24th at 6:00 PM, this time in Seguin, Texas.