GEORGETOWN, Texas â€" The Texas Lutheran volleyball squad started off a three-match non-conference weekend at Southwestern University on the right foot with a convincing sweep of Howard Payne on Friday.
 
Led by Brette Threadgill, the Bulldogs bullied their way to a 25-14, 26-24, 25-20 win over their former American Southwest Conference rivals.
 
With the win, Texas Lutheran improved to 14-10 (7-7 SCAC) on the year and snapped a two-match losing skid as it tries to gain some momentum heading into the SCAC Championship next weekend.
 
Threadgill (Sinton, Texas), one of the Bulldogs' most consistent threats offensively all season, was once again outstanding, smashing home 16 kills on .265 hitting. She ended up as the only player on either team to reach double-digit kills.
 
As a team, Texas Lutheran shot .176 while holding the Yellow Jackets to just .067 hitting. Friday marked the seventh time this season the Bulldogs have held an opponent to under .100 hitting.
 
One of the keys to the match was the Bulldogs' advantage in digs after recording 69 compared to just 49 for Howard Payne. A trio of TLU players led the way in that category with Megan Dugie, Megan Lee and Savannah Erskine all finishing with at least 12 digs.
 
Dugie (San Antonio, Texas) led the way with 19 total digs, while Lee (Universal City, Texas) was right behind her with 17. Erskine (Burnet, Texas) tallied 12 digs on the night.
 
The first two points of the match were scored by Threadgill. She finished with five kills (.571 hitting) in that opening frame. After an attack error by TLU evened the score of that first set at 10-10, the Bulldogs ripped off 11 of the next 12 points and took a commanding 21-11 lead to take control of the set.
 
The second set was much closer, but the Bulldogs still kept control throughout. They took a 6-5 lead after an Anna Keeling kill and never trailed again on their way to the tight win.
 
The third set, won by Texas Lutheran 25-20, featured a strong effort by TLU setter Manda Martin (Burnet, Texas). She dished out 10 of her 20 assists in that final frame to keep the Bulldog offense rolling.
 
Texas Lutheran will play two more regular season matches on Saturday with both coming against former ASC opponents. At 10:30 a.m. they will take on East Texas Baptist before wrapping things up at 1 p.m. against Hardin Simmons.