SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College volleyball team closed out the home portion of its 2023 slate on Saturday with a pair of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference matches, battling St. Thomas but coming up short in a 3-2 loss against the Celts before rebounding with a 3-0 sweep of Centenary. The 'Roos are now 16-13 overall on the year.

In the first match of the day against St. Thomas, Austin College pulled out a 27-25 victory in the opening set before the Celts took the second and third sets by scores of 25-16 and 25-18. However, the 'Roos evened things up in the fourth with a 25-21 win, but after falling behind 7-1 to open the final set, Austin College was unable to complete its comeback bid and the Celts took it 15-11. Samantha Graham and Mattie Duncan each had 12 kills to pace Austin College, with Graham hitting .423 in the match while Duncan had eight total blocks, including two block solos. Olivia Linton added eight kills, while Madison Manning paced the 'Roos with 26 assists.

Brianne Tseng added 24 assists and 16 digs, and Riley Abernethy chipped in 17 digs while Tatum Torres posted a team-best 23 digs in the loss. 

The 'Roos bounced back with a decisive victory over Centenary in their final match of the weekend, winning by scores of 25-11, 25-16, 25-16 behind 12 kills and 16 digs from Abernethy, while fellow senior Alyssa Holloway posted a match-best 24 digs. Linton added eight kills, while Graham had seven and Rita Araya and Duncan had six apiece. The 'Roos hit .281 as a team, including a .500 hitting percentage from Duncan, .385 from Araya, and .367 from Abernethy.

Torres chipped in 14 digs for the 'Roos, while Manning paced Austin College with 25 assists and added six digs and Tseng finished with 14 assists.