BELTON — For the first time in head coach Mark Pryor’s six-year tenure, UMHB Volleyball has won 20 matches in consecutive seasons. In Friday’s home finale, The Cru swept UT Dallas in straight sets, improving to 20-6 with just two contests left in the regular season.
The milestone comes on the heels of a 27-2 season in 2023, and is the 11th 20-win season in The Cru’s Division III history. The first seven came under the direction of longtime head coach Rob Frost, starting with a 21-11 campaign in 2011. Since Pryor took the reins of the program in 2019, 20-win seasons have been recorded in 2019, 2021, 2023, and now, 2024. The last time UMHB posted back-to-back seasons of at least 20 victories came in 2019, when The Cru went 24-8 after a 28-5 season in 2018. Pryor is 128-28 at the helm of UMHB’s program.
A solid attacking effort paid dividends for UMHB in achieving its 20th victory, as The Cru hit .288 against the Comets. It marked the first time UMHB hit above .200 since a 3-1 win at Howard Payne on Oct. 12, and was the highest hitting percentage from the Crusaders since Sept. 7, when they finished at .304 in a three-set win over Martin Luther.
Kendall Harrington and Baylee Mobley were instrumental in the offensive performance, as each hit for an identical percentage of .346, with 11 kills on 26 attacks and just two errors. Natalie Hughes hit for an efficient .429 with three kills, seven attacks, and zero errors, and Cameron Pesek added nine kills.
Caitlyn Ellenburg recorded a team-high 25 assists, the high assist total for the sophomore in a three-set match this season. Caiden Lasala had a team-high 15 digs, marking her third straight match with at least 15 digs.
UMHB, who played just nine home matches during the 2024 regular season, finished 7-2 inside the Mayborn Campus Center this fall. At 4-4 in ASC play, The Cru is likely to be the No. 3 seed in next month’s conference tournament, held Nov. 15-16 in Marshall, Texas. The five-team tournament field will be officially announced after Saturday’s matches, as ETBU, Howard Payne, LeTourneau, and Hardin-Simmons each have one contest remaining.
Houston is the final stop in the journey through the regular season for the Crusaders next week, as UMHB battles UC-Santa Cruz (12-11, 3-1 C2C) on Nov. 1 followed by a match against St. Thomas (TX) (9-12, 4-6 SCAC) on Nov. 2.
