Volleyball picked up their 6th and 7th straight victories against Dallas Christian and Howard Payne this past Saturday. With these wins, St. Thomas improves to an impressive 19 wins, continuing their highest since joining the NCAA. 

Dallas Christian (3-0)

St. Thomas opened the match taking care of business. They would not let the Crusaders get an inch as a 13-8 lead midway through the set saw the Celts run away. Following this, a 7-0 run gave St. Thomas the cushion needed to win set one 25-16. In set two, the Crusaders would answer putting the Celts in a hole 19-9. However, this would not be enough as St. Thomas answered with 16-4 run to take the lead and go up and win 25-23. In the third and final set, the Celts showcased their skills and wouldn't let the Crusaders get any momentum, taking the lead after their first two points. St. Thomas took a commanding lead and won 25-16. 

It was all defense for St. Thomas as 11 blocks dictated the flow of the match. Their back row also only allowed a .017 DCU hitting percentage. 

Howard Payne (3-0)

The Celts started the match strong by going up 13-5 early. From there the St. Thomas did nothing but shine with a 10-1 run to take a commanding lead and win the first set 25-9. From there, the Celts did not give the Yellow Jackets an inch as a 11-0 run starting set two. Howard Payne did their best to get back in it, however the lead was too large to recover from as St. Thomas won 25-11. In the third and final set Howard Payne was competitive with St. Thomas getting within 3- 13-10. However a 11-2 run midway through the set gave the Celts the advantage to win the last set 25-14.

Offensively, Audrey Cataline led with 23 kills, while Emerson Sykes dished out 28 assists. Defensively, Kara Spice had 29 digs and Paige Havel notched 8.5 total blocks. 

Up next, the Celts host senior night on October 25th at the Jerabeck Activity and Athletics Center. Come out at 6 pm to celebrate volleyball's six seniors as they face the Huston Tillotson Rams.