BELTON, Texas – The hopes head coach Matt Helm had coming into the 2015 volleyball season played out just like he'd … well … hoped on Friday afternoon as his Whitman College Missionaries picked up a five-game, 3-2 non-conference victory over Hardin-Simmons University during the opening day of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Invitational.

Whitman improves to 2-1 on the season after dropping Friday's early game against host Mary Hardin-Baylor, 3-0, before rebounding against Hardin-Simmons which remains winless on the year at 0-2.

Helm cited an increase in depth on his squad as a reason to believe Whitman would fare better than it did last season in matches lasting five games. That plan came to fruition Friday as the Missionaries, who'd led Hardin-Simmons 2-1, dropped game four to the Cowgirls before gritting out an 18-16 win in the fifth to steal their first five-game win in more than a year.

Contributors to the victory came from up and down the roster as senior Hannah Linsenmayer posted a match-high 20 digs while first-year Brooke Randall knocked down a team-best seven kills.

Four players -- Randall, senior Abby Seethoff, junior Natalia Zea and first-year Miranda Taylor -- put five or more kills onto the stats sheet for Whitman.

At the net sophomore Kaileah Akker and junior Natalia Zea teamed up to accrue 4 of the team's 4.5 blocks in the victory.

And helping to run the show were sophomore Anna Dawson and junior transfer Breanna Mehling. Dawson collected 25 set assists with Mehling chipping in with 13 more. Dawson also chimed in with three service aces and 14 digs.

First-year Codie Conching was another player who reached double digits in digs with 12 against the Cowgirls.

Helm even saw four more players -- junior Shae Kanakaole, sophomore Cherokee Washington, and first-years Megan Henry and Katie Sisson -- help with the win by combining for nine kills and 19 digs.

In all 13 players saw action in the victory. Depth, indeed.

The early loss to UMHB, a participant in the 2014 NCAA tournament, started slowly for Whitman before building to a 25-23 loss in the third game.

Linsenmayer came up with 20 digs, Kanakaole put down nine kills, Dawson doled out 24 assists and Akker totaled three blocks to lead Whitman in those categories against the Crusaders.

The Missionaries are back in action Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center with matches against East Texas Baptist University and 16th-ranked Trinity (Texas) University.