Another busy week of fall sports action unfolded this week for UMHB Athletics, with six teams in action, the majority of which were out-of-state. We saw a number a big wins, highlighted by the first victory of the season for men’s soccer and an 8-0 start for Cru volleyball. This weekly article is designed to highlight some of those notable individual and team accomplishments, looking at the numbers from this past week in Crusader sports.
This “by the numbers” article is presented by Faithfully Fit, an outstanding ministry founded by Cru Baseball alum Kyle Shipp aiming to create a community of individuals who are educated and committed to the pursuit of mental health and living fulfilling lives while being shaped by faith in Christ. To learn more, visit faithfullyfitcf.com.
4 times in UMHB Volleyball’s D-III history that The Cru has opened a season with eight straight wins, with the most recent instance coming this past weekend in Superior, Wisconsin. The Cru followed up its 4-0 West Coast weekend with a quartet of victories in the upper midwest, dropping only two sets in the process. They opened with a sweep of St. Scholastica on Friday, followed by a 3-1 win over the hosts, UW-Superior, who entered the evening match with a 5-0 record. Saturday saw victories over Martin Luther and Hamline, as UMHB heads into Tuesday’s home opener with plenty of momentum. Of the three previous seasons that have started 8-0, two came under current head coach Mark Pryor in 2021 and 2023.
370 days between home losses for St. Olaf College men’s soccer, who was ranked No. 1 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25. But that changed when The Cru rolled into town on Thursday, as UMHB pulled off a stunning upset in Northfield, Minnesota, shutting out the defending national champs, 1-0. It was not only a massive Top 25 win for The Cru, but also marked UMHB’s first victory of the 2024 season. Freshman Drew Cooley delivered the game-winning goal off an assist from Ethan Dacaret.
2 triple-doubles in UMHB sophomore setter Kendall Harrington’s collegiate career, the second of which came on Friday in The Cru’s 3-1 win over UW-Superior. Harrington accomplished the feat by tallying 10 kills, 24 assists, and 19 digs, all three of which were season-highs for the Midland native. It was also the first triple-double recorded by a UMHB player in 2024, and the only triple-double in Region 10 this past week.
1 active head coach with at least 150 career wins at UMHB, and that is women’s soccer head coach Barry Elkins. Elkins, a UMHB alum, secured his 150th victory in Monday’s 1-0 win over Concordia (TX), becoming the ninth coach in Cru athletics history (regardless of sport) to reach that milestone, and is the only one of those nine still coaching in Belton. Over 13 seasons leading the women’s soccer program, Elkins is 150-48-19, with an 89-21-9 record against conference opponents.
61 passing yards allowed by the UMHB defense in Saturday’s season-opening loss at Bethel (TN), one of the bright spots in the 20-10 defeat. Bethel quarterback Avaun Rucker completed just 40 percent of his passes (6-of-15), and Rucker’s passing yardage was the lowest for an opposing quarterback (with a mimimum of 10 pass attempts) since Texas Lutheran threw for just 55 yards on Oct. 16, 2021.
