AUSTIN, Texas — Down after three sets on the road, the Newman volleyball team charged back with two impressive sets to earn a 3-2 victory to hand St. Edward's its first conference loss Thursday night.
KEY SEQUENCE
The Jets (8-9, 2-0 Heartland) got out to a much-needed fast start in the fourth set against the Hilltoppers (11-5, 2-1 Heartland), leading 15-9 midway through the set. Facing elimination down 2-1 in the match, the guests didn't take their foot off the pedal, reeling off nine straight points on the strength of two kills each from Crystal Powell, Kayla Turner and Emily Harvey to build momentum that lasted right through the fifth set to grab the 30-28, 18-25, 19-25, 25-10, 15-8 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-A tight start to the first set opened up with five straight points from the Jets to make it 11-7, as Megan Pedersen notched two kills and teamed up with Powell for one of the latter's two blocks in the stretch. St. Edward's later rallied to go up 21-18, but Newman tied it at 21-all, and had match point at 24-23 after two errors. The hosts wouldn't go easily though, needing a Harvey kill and a Hilltopper error to give the Jets the win.
-After a pair of SEU errors helped the Jets earn a 14-10 lead in the second, the Hilltoppers rebounded to pick up the next six points and a 16-14 advantage. Newman stuck around, getting it back to within 19-18, but St. Edward's rolled to the final six points of the set to tie things up in the match.
-A 7-1 run from the Hilltoppers helped them build a 12-8 lead in the third. Newman stopped the run with a kill and an ace from Pedersen, but the Jets could only put together two points in a row once more in the set as the hosts picked up a key set win to build a 2-1 lead in the match.
-With their backs against the wall, the Jets saw Turner record two kills and an ace to jump out to a 4-1 lead early in the fourth. Newman didn't trail the rest of the set, as two kills from Sarah Peterson made it 8-3. A 6-0 run saw Peterson net three aces as that lead built to 14-4 before the Jets went on its momentum changing run late in the set.
-St. Edward's managed the first point of the fifth, but back-to-back errors gave Newman the lead, and after a brief tie at 2-2 ran off four straight and led the rest of the way. Yemima Buana had two kills and Peterson added a kill and an ace as the Jets closed the impressive comeback.
NOTES
-Pedersen notched her third triple-double of the season, going for 10 kills, 27 assists and a season-high 16 digs.
-Turner put up a career-high 24 digs on the night, pairing that with 12 kills to pick up her fourth double-double of the season. Emily Harvey also tallied 12 kills to lead the Jets.
-Anna Burton added 27 digs, Reagan Roth chipped in with 22 assists, and Newman matched a season high with 11 aces on the night.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets look to extend their four-match winning streak Saturday in a noon matchup at Dallas Baptist.
