Postponed from the fall semester due to COVID-19, the Howard Payne Lady Jackets volleyball season finally began Friday with a pair of victories over Jarvis Christian College at the Brownwood Coliseum.
The Lady Jackets swept the first match, 25-18, 25-13, 25-18, and followed with a four-set triumph in the nightcap, 25-19 25-15, 13-25, 25-17.
In the first match, Mya Ross led HPU with 17 kills followed by 10 from Amaya Marshall, six from Mitsue Rodriguez, four from Fabianna Bennett, two from Canyon Hughes, and one each from Kaitlyn Elsten, Delaney Etzler and Chloe Pryor.
Riley Brittain dished out 18 assists, Elsten added 14, Bennett tallied two and Rodriguez and Daisy Flores logged one each.
Flores and Ross both served three aces while Pryor recorded one.
Defensively, Flores finished with a team-best 14 digs trailed by Pryor with eight, Ross and Brittain with six apiece, Elsten and Bennett with three each, Rodriguez and Hughes with two apiece, and Marshall and Elizabeth Benn with one each.
Marshall was credited with two blocks and Bennett added one.
In the second match, Ross again led the charge with 18 kills followed by Marshall with seven, Rodriguez with six, Hughes with four, and Etzler and Bennett with two apiece.
Brittain registered 16 assists while 15 coming from Elsten, four from Benn and one from Pryor.
Elsten served four aces, Benn and Bennett added three each and Brittain chipped in a pair.
On the defensive end, Benn tallied 12 digs trailed by Brittain with 11, Ross with eight, Elsten and Pryor each with seven, Bennett with six, Rodriguez with four, Marshall with three, Hughes with a pair and Etzler with one.
Marshall and Bennett collected two blocks apiece while Ross and Etzler added one each.
Jarvis Christian, an NAIA school based out of Hawkins, fell to 0-7 on its season.
The next action for the Lady Jackets (2-0) is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9 in another doubleheader against Mary Hardin-Baylor.
