BROWNWOOD, Texas- The Howard Payne University volleyball team defeated conference opponent Belhaven University 3-1 Thursday afternoon in the Brownwood Coliseum.

The Lady Jackets dominated the first set, defeating the Blazers 25-10.

Howard Payne started the second set with a 6-0 run. However, Belhaven fought their way back into the set but never took the lead. HPU won the set 25-22.

The Lady Jackets dropped the third set 25-17.

The fourth set was very close. HPU trailed BU 22-19 before going on a 6-0 run to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

Mitsue Rodriguez had 10 kills for the Lady Jackets, followed by Rylee Spencer with nine. Amaya Marshall had five blocks, followed by Delaney Etzler and Rylee Spencer with three. Riley Brittain had 21 assists.

Izabella Erickson had 11 kills for Belhaven, and Grace Eidson had 18 assists.

Howard Payne improves to 4-17 overall and 2-12 in American Southwest Conference action. Belhaven falls to 2-19 overall and 0-13 in conference play.

The Lady Jackets will celebrate senior day on Saturday, Oct. 23rd, at 1:00 pm in the Brownwood Coliseum. They will play East Texas Baptist.