GEORGETOWN, Texas - The Pirates needed extra points and sets to decide their matches in day one of SCAC Crossover action. Southwestern defeated Birmingham Southern 3-2 in match one and Millsaps 3-1 in match two to improve to 9-3 on the year and 2-0 to open conference play.

Southwestern fell behind early in their first match as Birmingham Southern came out at a blistering pace and took game one 25-23. The Pirates sprung back to action and won game two and three, 25-19, 25-18, but BSC fought back and won the third game 25-20 to force game five. The Pirates took control from there as they won 15-8 to win their first SCAC match.

A well-balanced attack was the key to the win for SU. Jill Wigington and Rachel Thibodeau each had 13 kills to lead the Pirates while Lindsay Thompson and Lauren Brown were close behind with 12 each. Christina Nicholls had 47 assists and 15 digs. Allison Stubbs dug up 22 balls while Lauren Brown had a team high two aces.

The final match for Southwestern, and last of the day for the tournament, was a marathon as teams needed extra points in three of the four sets. It was a back and forth contest in game one as SU narrowly edged out the Majors 27-25 and picked up the pace in game two, winning 25-19. Millsaps fought back, however, and despite being down most of the game in the third they found a way to sneak the 26-24 win. The Pirates closed the match out with a 27-25 game five win.

Lindsay Thompson led with 16 kills and five blocks while Rachel Thibodeau recorded 12 kills and a team high two aces in the match. Annie Hutson led with 23 digs followed by Allison Stubbs' 16. Christina Nicholls notched 40 assists in the win.

The Pirates continue their SCAC matches on Saturday, facing Rhodes at noon and Trinity at 4 pm.