SHERMAN, Texas — The Southwestern University Pirates volleyball team's comeback fell short in a five-set loss to Austin College, splitting the day's doubleheader. 

Austin College put together double-digit kills in each of the first two sets. The Kangaroos were most efficient in a 25-21 first set win with 12 kills in 30 attacks with five errors for a .233 hitting percentage. Southwestern put the ball down for a match-high 18 kills in the second set but offset that with 11 attack errors in 54 attacks, hitting .130 in a 25-23 second-set loss. 

Down 0-2, the Pirates locked in over the next two sets, holding Austin College to a negative hitting percentage in both sets. The Kangaroos committed seven errors to just five kills in the third set to hit -.080 in a 25-16 Southwestern win. They committed 10 more attack errors in the fourth set to give Southwestern a 25-14 win to tie the match and force a fifth set. 

In the final set, back-to-back Olivia Linton kills put Austin College up 10-6, forcing a Southwestern timeout. The Pirates pulled back within two at 11-9, but the Kangaroos got a kill from Linton and Caitlin Mahoney, and Southwestern committed an attack error and service error to drop the set 15-11 and lose the match. 

Southwestern had a 63-46 edge in kills but committed 31 errors. Riley Brantley led three Pirates in double-digit kills with 16 on a .483 hitting percentage. Alex Grooms had 13 kills. Lauren Crabtree finished with her second triple-double of the day with 10 kills on a .152 hitting percentage with 23 assists and 13 digs. Katelyn Whitehead led the Pirates with 27 assists, and Ali Grona had 23 digs. 

Riley Abernathy led Austin College with 14 kills on a .353 hitting percentage. Linton had 12 kills on a .150 clip. 

Southwestern drops to 8-4 with the loss. Austin College improves to 8-6. With the regular season ended, Southwestern will compete in the SCAC Championships next weekend.