WICHITA, Kan. — Hailey Braddy notched 25 kills and Reagen Roth picked up 63 assists, but the Newman volleyball team fell in a heartbreaking 3-2 Heartland Conference matchup against St. Edward's on Senior Day Saturday at Fugate Gymnasium.

KEY SEQUENCE

A 3-0 run by the Jets (10-18, 3-6 Heartland), with three straight kills from Hailey Braddy, Yemima Buana and Kayla Turner, gave the Jets match point at 14-13 in a decisive fifth set against the Hilltoppers (15-9, 5-5 Heartland), but the guests stunted the momentum with a timeout and scored four of the final five points to close out a 21-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, 18-16 victory

HOW IT HAPPENED

-An early 4-0 run from the Jets put them up 5-2 in the first set, and they did not trail the rest of the way. St. Edward's managed to tie it at 7-7 and again at 13-13, but Emily Harvey and Braddy turned in kills and Buana a block to go back in front. Harvey and Braddy again added kills when the Hilltoppers got as close as 21-20 late, and two errors gave the Jets the set win.

-St. Edward's worked its way out to a 6-1 lead early in the second, maintained a healthy advantage for much of the set, and was still up 20-13 late. But the Jets wouldn't go easily, rolling off a 10-3 run to get back in it. Turner, Harvey, Crystal Powell and Braddy all had kills during that stretch, but the Hilltoppers netted the final two points to even up the match.

-The guests appeared poised to pick up the crucial third set, going up 4-0, but the Jets charged back with five straight points. The rest of the set was close, with neither team leading by more than two points, until the Hilltoppers tied it at 19-all. From that point, the Jets reeled off the final six points of the set, with Braddy adding three kills and block to that run.

 -Buana and Harvey turned in kills to put the Jets up 6-4 early in the fourth, but the Hilltoppers climbed back into it, using a 3-0 run to tie things at 11-11. The guests used a five-point burst to move in front 17-13 midway through the set, but Turner and Harvey notched kills to help Newman climb back to down just 21-20 late. Another Harvey kill made it 22-21, but St. Edward's scored the final three points to force a fifth.

-The Hilltoppers scored four of the first five points in the fifth, and although they held the lead for much of the set, the Jets rallied with a pair of kills from Turner to make it 9-8, and a kill out of Braddy and a Powell block to make it 11-10. They took their first lead of the set at 15-14, but the visitors closed strong to seal the match.

NOTES

-Braddy's 25 kills are a career high, and came on .444 hitting.

-Harvey added 18 kills against just three errors for a .341 attack percentage, and Powell put up a season-high nine kills on .600 hitting.

-Roth's 63 assists, better than 12 per set, also set a new career high for the freshman and reigning Heartland Setter of the Week.

WHAT'S NEXT

The Jets play their final three matches of the regular season on the road, beginning Thursday at Texas A&M International.