SAN ANTONIO, Texas. – Missed opportunities plagued the Whitworth University volleyball team as the Pirates fell to the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 25-13, 23-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-8 in the opening game of the Trinity National Invitational, hosted by Trinity University, on Friday. Mary Hardin-Baylor improves to 8-1 on the season while Whitworth falls to 3-6.

Sophomore Nicole Leonard's first kill of the day tied the opening set at 1-1, but the Crusaders took advantage of a Pirate service error to regain control of the lead. Never letting Whitworth get within striking distance, Mary Hardin-Baylor took the first set 25-13.

The Crusaders pulled out to an early 2-0 lead before senior Jalana White put the Pirates on the board with a kill. Despite falling behind, Whitworth made a run on Mary Hardin-Baylor and a block from White and senior Briauna Stadeli tied the set at 17-17. The Pirates took their first lead of the day on a Crusader attack error and claimed the 25-23 set victory on a block from White and senior Kristine Kardell.

In contrast to the previous two sets, Whitworth scored first in the third set, and went up by as many as three points early before Mary Hardin-Baylor tied the score 10-10. In a back-and-forth set, the Pirates were able to make the final push, using kills from Kardell, Leonard and junior Tori LaBrie to take the set, 25-22.

The Crusaders and Pirates remained close to open the fourth and fifth sets, but Mary Hardin-Baylor was able to pull away as play action went deeper into the sets, taking the match victory.

Whitworth had 12 service errors in the five set match with the lone service ace coming from senior Whitney Santos in the third set. The Pirates hit .136 for the match with four team blocks. Mary Hardin-Baylor served up seven aces while hitting .194.

Jalana White led the Pirates with a match-high 15 kills, 13 digs, two blocks and a .217 hitting percentage. Kristine Kardell had 12 kills and three blocks for the Pirates while Briauna Stadeli and Nicole Leonard each had 11 kills. Whitney Santos had 28 digs, while sophomore setter Maddye Dinsmore had 56 assists.

Mary Hardin-Baylor was led by Bianca Patterson's 13 kills and Kendra Feldmann's match-high 27 digs. Shelby Prather and Kendall Pye each had two aces for the Crusaders.

The Pirates resume action at the Trinity National Invitational at 3:00 pm on Friday against Hardin-Simmons.