NCAA game notes for No. 1 ETBU volleyball

MARSHALL, Texas-Three-time American Southwest Champions and the No. 1 team in the nation, East Texas Baptist University, is heading to the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament in Boston, Mass. ETBU earned the No. 1 overall seed and will face Maine Maritime on the campus of Tufts University in Medford, Mass. The NCAA Regionals will take place from November 20-22, with the Tigers playing on Thursday at 1: 00 p. m. Central time. Last weekend, No. 1 ETBU swept both Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons to secure its third-straight ASC Championship. ETBU hosted the ASC Championship tournament for the second straight year. Here are the game notes for this weekend’s matchup. NCAA Details No. 1 ETBU (31-0 overall; 8-0 ASC) will face Maine Maritime (21-8 overall; 8-0 NACC) at 2: 00 p. m. on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Regionals. Emory, Springfield, Kean, Lasell, Tufts, and Bridgewater State are in the same regional tournament. Maine Maritime Main Maritime battled its way into the tournament, sweeping both SUNY Cobleskill and SUNY Delhi 3-0 in the North Atlantic Conference Championship, earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Mariners are 21-8 on the season and went 8-0 in the NACC. Maritime has won its last four matches and is No. 126 in NPI. This will be the Tigers’ first match up against the Mariners who have six upperclassmen, including three seniors and three juniors. Championship DNA ETBU has appeared in the last four American Southwest Tournament Championship matches, winning the previous three. Head Coach Mallory Matthews has made it past the first round of the tournament six times. In 2019 and 2021, Matthews led LeTourneau University to the second round. In her first year at ETBU, Matthews led the program to its first championship appearance since 2013. Matthews has won the tournament three years in a row in 2023, 2024, and 2025, tying the ETBU streak of ASC championships from 2001-2003 by Suzanne Wingrove. ETBU is the only program to three-peat twice in the ASC Volleyball Tournament Championship. The Tigers hold the most ASC championships among current conference members, beating Hardin-Simmons, which has five. Former ASC member The University of Texas at Dallas holds the all-time ASC tournament championship record with eight. NCAA Tournament Notes This is East Texas Baptist’s third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and sixth all-time. ETBU has made it to the second round four of the five times they’ve played in the tournament. They are 4-5 overall in the NCAA Tournament playing in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2023, 2024 and now 2025. All ASC Tournament Team The Tigers swept both Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons to secure the ASC Tournament. Lexi Moody, Callie Humphrey, and Graycee Mosley all won ASC All-Tournament Awards, with Mosley being named the ASC All-Tournament Most Valuable Player. Mosley had 42 kills on only eight errors for a . 427 hitting percentage. She recorded 20 total digs, ten per set, achieving her 81st and 82nd career double-doubles. Humphrey recorded 32 digs this weekend while Moody recorded 35 assists. One of One For the second week in a row, the Tigers have earned the No. 1 spot in both NPI and the AVCA poll. This is ETBU’s fifth week at number one in NPI, having held the top spot since the rankings first came out. ETBU received 70. 571 points, ahead of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s 69. 573 and Wesleyan’s 67. 236 points. This is the highest ranking in the program, ever. The Tigers started the season ranked No. 14 in the AVCA poll, then jumped to No. 8, then No. 5, and finally No. 2. Before this season, the program’s highest ranking was No. 8, set in 2024. ETBU is the only Division III program left that is undefeated, going 31-0 to start the season. Conference Recognition After finishing an undefeated regular season with a perfect 8-0 record in the American Southwest Conference (ASC), East Texas Baptist University was awarded four major awards, and eight players were named All-ASC. Graycee Mosley, Callie Humphrey, Lara Hornsby, McKinzie Riley, and the ETBU coaching staff received the major ASC Awards. Mosley earned her fourth straight ASC Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the only ASC athlete to win MVP four years in a row. Humphrey earns her second major ASC award, as the Libero of the Year, after being the ASC Newcomer of the Year last year. Lara Horsby and McKinzie Riley have been named the 2025 Co-Freshmen of the Year. For the second year in a row, Head Coach Mallory Matthews and Assistant Coach Allison Kuster have won the ASC coaching staff of the year, sharing the award with Hardin-Simmons University. Making the All-ASC first team are Mosley, Anita Hancock, Lexi Moody, and Sydney Temple. Making the All-ASC second team are Humphrey, Lara Hornsby, McKinzie Riley, and Lindsey Gooch. Protecting the O ETBU has not lost a home match in 43 games, with its last loss occurring to LeTourneau University in September 2022. The Tigers have had three straight perfect regular seasons in Ornelas Gymnasium. This season, they have swept 14 of 15 home matches, posting a 15-0 home record. ETBU has swept 24 of its 31 opponents this season and has gone to a fifth set only twice- against Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Hardin-Simmons. UWEC is now ranked No. 5 in the NPI with only four losses, one of which was from the while Howard-Payne is second in the American Southwest Conference. Remarkable Résumé The Tigers have beaten three teams in the top 25 and seven in the top 50. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is No. 5 with 66. 239 points, and Trinity University (TX) is No. 14 with 63, 080 points. Berry is No. 25 with 60. 759 points. Edgewood is No. 31 with 59. 979 points, Northwestern-St. Paul is No. 33 with 59, 651 points. The Tigers have also beaten two teams just outside the top 50, including No. 53 Colorado College (58. 288) and No. 54 St. Thomas Houston (58. 288). Colorado College won the SCAC Conference Tournament and earned an NCAA Tournament bid. Block Party Junior Anita Hancock hit her 100th block of the season this past weekend against UC Santa Cruz and now has 117 on the season. The Celina, Texas, native has 295 total blocks in her career and is fifth on the ETBU all-time block list. A Grand Accomplishment Graycee Mosley, Callie Humphrey, Lexi Moody, and Sydney Temple all achieved significant career milestones this season. Mosley hit 1, 500 digs this past Saturday against UC Santa Cruz and scored her 2000th career point earlier in the season. The Troy, Texas native is now at 1, 523 digs and 2, 118. 5 points. Mosley is approaching 2, 000 career kills and is currently at 1, 903. Temple collected her 1000th career dig against Howard Payne on October 25th. Humphrey completed her 1, 000th career dig, and Lexi Moody accomplished her 2, 000th career assist, both against Centenary on September 16th. Face of the ASC ETBU has had a player awarded the American Southwest Conference Player of the Week nine times out of 10 this season. The Tigers have swept both offensive and defensive awards in four of the ten weeks, with Mosley winning offensive and Anita Hancock winning Defensive in week one, while Hancock won the Offensive and Callie Humphrey won defensive in week three. Mosley and Humphrey have won it twice, together, this year. Last week, Callie Humphrey won her fourth American Southwest Conference weekly award of the season, bringing her career total to five. The Senior from Haslet, Texas, recorded 39 digs and served seven aces on 41 attempts, scoring eight points for ETBU this weekend. Her defensive efforts helped the Tigers sweep both Austin College and UC Santa Cruz. In her two years at ETBU, Humphrey has recorded 921 digs. Last week, Senior Graycee Mosley earned her 19th ASC Player of the Week award, which is a new overall ASC record. She holds the most weekly awards of any athlete in the American Southwest Conference. ‘Can I get a Double-Double?’ Graycee Mosley achieved her 81st and 82nd career double-doubles against Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons last weekend. She recorded 42 kills and 20 digs on the weekend. The four-year Senior has 1981 career kills and 1568 career digs. Freshman Phenom With a team full of upperclassmen, Freshman Lara Hornsby has become a major contributor for the Tigers. Playing in every match this season, Hornsby has achieved 295 kills, 104 digs, and 24 blocks, totaling 330 points. National Attention Senior Graycee Mosley was awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association National DIII Player of the Week on October 7th after a 3-0 weekend in Georgia during the Berry Invite on October 2nd and 3rd. Mosley played in all 11 sets that weekend, never coming out of a game. She had 45 kills on eight errors for a . 378 hitting percentage. Tigers with Tenure All of the Tigers’ statistical leaders are upperclassmen. Senior Graycee Mosley leads the team with 481 kills. Senior Lexi Moody leads the team in assists with 530, followed closely by Junior Sydney Temple with 498. Mosley and Temple are tied in service aces, both with 37, followed by Humphrey with 35. Junior Anita Hancock leads the team in blocks with 117, and Humphrey leads the team in digs with 431, followed by Mosley’s 380. ETBU’s senior class includes five players: McKenzie Mansell, Callie Humphrey, Taylor Poore, Graycee Mosley, and Lexi Moody. Four of the five have been four-year starters for the Tigers. Mosley File Four-time ASC Most Valuable Player Graycee Mosley heads into the NCAA Tournament with 82 career double-doubles. This past weekend, she won the ASC All-Tournament MVP. Two weeks ago, she achieved her 20th career ASC Weekly award, which is the most weekly awards of any American Southwest Conference athlete of any sport in the conference’s history. On October 7th, she was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week. The Senior from Troy, Texas, is second on ETBU’s all-time kills list with 1981 and fifth in all-time digs with 1568. ‘Hey Now, You’re an All Star’ Head Coach Mallory Matthews, the reigning ASC Coach of the Year, enters 2025 with five returning All-ASC players Graycee Mosley, Anita Hancock, Lexi Moody, Callie Humphrey, and McKenzie Mansell. Mosley is the three-time ASC MVP, Moody was the 2024 ASC Setter of the Year, and Humphrey was the 2024 ASC Newcomer of the Year. Put a Ring on it In early September, the Tigers received their 2024 ASC Championship ring at Ornelas Gymnasium in their home opener. Previous Weeks Quick Hitters 3-peat ASC Champions (Nov 14-15) This past weekend, ETBU recorded its third straight American Southwest Conference Tournament title. The Tigers swept both Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons to secure the tournament, with Graycee Mosley winning All-Tournament Most Valuable Player, and Callie Humphrey and Lexi Moody being named on the All-Tournament team. Only Undefeated Left (Nov 8) The Tigers finished out their regular season as the only program in Division III Women’s Volleyball that remains undefeated. ETBU defeated both Ozarks and Austin College on Saturday. This is ETBU’s first season making it through the regular season unscathed, as they are now 29-0 heading into the ASC tournament. Area 41 (Oct 31-Nov 1) For the third straight season, ETBU finishes a perfect regular-season home schedule. The Tigers beat Austin College and UC Santa Cruz this weekend, winning their 40th and 41st consecutive regular-season home games. Ornelas Gymnasium has not seen a regular-season home loss since 2022. Super Seniors (Oct 23-25) ETBU won three matches this week, including a top-25 sweep of St. Thomas Houston on Thursday and two conference wins against Hardin-Simmons on Friday and Howard Payne on Saturday to secure the regular-season ASC sweep. Saturday was senior day, celebrating the five seniors, four of whom have been at ETBU for all four years. Homecoming Queens (Oct 14, 18) During homecoming week, the Tigers swept two opponents at home for the second week in a row. ETBU beat Centenary 3-0 in Ornelas on Tuesday and swept Mary Hardin-Baylor 3-0 on Friday. The Tigers have faced and swept both of these opponents twice this season. Home Sweep Home (Oct 9, 12) ETBU returned to Ornelas after a month on the road and swept both Centre College and Hendrix College 3-0. The Tigers are 6-0 at home, sweeping every opponent to enter Ornelas Gymnasium this season. ‘Georgia on My Mind’ (Oct. 3-4) The Tigers took a road trip to Georgia for the Berry Invite. The Tigers won all three matches they played, sweeping Covenant, beating the host, number 14-ranked Berry, and beating Oglethorpe. The Tigers are the only team from outside the state of Georgia in the invitational and the only team to beat every opponent in the invite. Travelin’ Tigers (Sept. 26-27) ETBU traveled to every American Southwest Conference opponent in eight days, sweeping all three 3-0. The Tigers took care of business against UMHB on September 19th, then swept Hardin-Simmons on September 26 in Abilene and Howard Payne on September 27 in Brownwood. The Tigers have played 11 of their 15 matches this season on the road. Their last seven matches have been on the road. Business Trip (Sept. 16, 19) ETBU went back on the road, sweeping Centenary in Shreveport, LA, on Tuesday night. Then, the Tigers returned to Texas, opening conference play against UMHB, winning 3-0 in Belton. Historic Weekend (Sept. 12-13) ETBU went 3-0 at the Tiger Classic hosted by Trinity Texas, defeating Whitworth (3-1), UNW (3-0), and Trinity (3-1). The Tigers broke two program records. Beating No. 12 Trinity Texas for the first time in program history and going 11-0 for the first time. Hometown Heroes (Sept. 5-6) The Tigers went 4-0 in their home opener, winning every match in three sets. Last year, they posted a 29-match streak that ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They carry a 30-match regular-season home winning streak and a 29-match regular-season win streak into week three of play. The Tigers have not lost a regular-season home match since 2022, when they fell 3-2 to LeTourneau.
https://marshallnewsmessenger.com/2025/11/19/ncaa-game-notes-for-no-1-etbu-volleyball/

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