Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 TYLER, Texas – The Belhaven volleyball team took the court Friday hoping to find the pair of victories that would get them over .500 for the first the time this season. Their opponents on the first day of tournament action had other plans, as East Texas Baptist and host University of Texas-Tyler were each able to defeat the Blazers in three sets.

"We ran into two teams today who are playing at full strength, and we are still trying to find our identity," Head Coach Justin Dee said. "We have to buy in to the big picture of what we are trying to accomplish as a team."

Defense proved to be the lone light spot in the Blazers' first match against East Texas Baptist, as senior Katherine Owen tallied 19 digs and freshman Jackie Gunderson added 14 of her own.

The Blazers offense never got going in the first match, ultimately leading to 25-20, 25-15, and 25-11 losses against ETBU. The offense improved only slightly against UT-Tyler, suffering 25-19, 25-16, and 25-19 losses.

Freshman Taylor Lafavre stood out with six kills and three aces against the Eagles. When the Texas dust settled however, Belhaven had fallen in three sets for the second time on the day.

"We are young, and we played that way today. We need more 'we' and less 'me'," Dee said. "We need to work together toward a common goal. If we can do that, we are capable of doing wonderful things."

Belhaven will return to action on Saturday against two more Texas teams to round out the tournament. The match with University of Mary-Hardin Baylor is slated for 10:00 am, while Howard Payne will come calling at 2:00 pm.