Volleyball

The volleyball team opened with the Hilltopper Classic, a home tournament on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. 

The Hilltoppers defeated Abilene Christian, fell to Colorado State-Pueblo, swept Midwestern State and fell to Angelo State to split the weekend. Hilltopper senior libero Michelle Hundt was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2. 

The Hilltoppers opened conference play with a win over TAMU-International and bested St. Mary’s in the annual Battle of the Saints match in a nail-bitingly close win.

The Toppers suffered their first loss play to Dallas Baptist. They then swept SW Oklahoma State and fell to West Texas A&M. Hundt was honored with another Player of the Week award for the week of Sept. 3-9, along with Senior Mary McNamara.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team has had a successful run this season, creaming all their competition in all of their five games thus far. 

The Toppers bested New Mexico Highlands with a 2-0 victory, with goals scored by Jessica Traves and Taylor Wiseman. 

The team fell behind in their next game against Adams State College, but came back for a victory thanks to goals from Megan Anderson and Lauren Heller. 

Junior defender Kate Orklid was named Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2. 

The team hosted Metro State, Incarnate Word and Regis College in an unofficial tournament Sept. 7-9. The Hilltoppers beat Metro State in their first game of the tournament, 2-1 and beat Regis with a 1-0 shutout. In the latest game against 9th-ranked Dallas Baptist, the Hilltoppers surprised everyone with a 5-1 win against the conference heavyweight.

Men’s Soccer

Men’s soccer opened with a loss to Colorado School of Mines, ultimately falling short in a 3-2 loss. The Hilltoppers then played no. 1-ranked Fort Lewis College. The first half of the game ended in a 0-0. Fort Lewis took control of the game in the second half and won 2-0. 

The team traveled to play Dallas Baptist Sept. 13 for the conference opener. Daniel Riley scored his first goal of the season, as did Andrew Fox. James Martin added the game’s third goal just three minutes later to clinch the win. The Hilltoppers played fifth-ranked Midwestern State this weekend in a rainy match, which ended 0-0.