IRVING, Texas — The Howard Payne University volleyball team picked up a pair of victories Friday, defeating Arlington Baptist University, 3-1, before taking down the University of Dallas, 3-2, at the Maher Athletic Center.

The Yellow Jackets opened the day with a 25-15, 25-17, 16-25, 25-20 victory over Arlington Baptist. HPU controlled the opening two sets, hitting .333 in each while building a 2-0 advantage. After Arlington Baptist claimed the third set, the Yellow Jackets responded by hitting .286 in the fourth set to close out the match.

Carli Briese led the HPU attack against Arlington Baptist with 11 kills while hitting .625. Tara Bennett added 10 kills and hit .320, while Sam Torres contributed six kills. HPU finished the match with 50 kills and a .248 team hitting percentage. The Yellow Jackets also recorded 11 service aces, with Bennett and Ashlyn Kelly each recording three.
Howard Payne then faced Dallas in the second match of the day, earning a 3-2 victory. The Yellow Jackets took the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-17, before Dallas rallied to win the third and fourth sets, 25-16 and 25-22. HPU responded in the decisive fifth set, claiming a 15-12 victory to secure the match.

Sam Torres paced the Yellow Jackets offensively against Dallas with 14 kills and a .308 hitting percentage. Carli Briese added another 11 kills, doubling her total on the night. Londynn Whitworth added eight kills while hitting .571 and recorded two solo blocks. Bennett finished with nine kills, 12 digs and two blocks, while Kelly recorded a team-high 23 assists. Jadyn White added three service aces and eight digs.

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HPU finished the Dallas match with 54 kills, 40 assists, seven service aces and 54 digs. The Yellow Jackets also recorded six total blocks in the five-set victory.
With the two victories, Howard Payne improved to 3-1 on the season. The Yellow Jackets return to action Thursday, Sept. 18, for their first home match of the season.