Box Score: LeTourneau 3, Centenary 1

Box Score: Texas Wesleyan 3, LeTourneau 0

RICHARDSON, Texas – LeTourneau volleyball picked up its first win of the season Friday evening at the UTD Labor Day Tournament as the YellowJackets defeated Centenary (La.) 3-1 (25-19, 26-24, 21-25, 25-18) to move to 1-1 on the season.

"I was very proud of how our team came out against Centenary," LeTourneau head coach Scott Peluso said. "Our energy was very high, and our communication was great. We still have a long way to go, especially when it comes to getting the ball to our middles, but our outside and rightside hitters made some great swings.

"I was also very pleased at how our defense improved from the first match. Our freshmen really stepped up in this match - there were a couple of rotations where we had nothing but freshmen on the floor. And with the contributions of our returners, it was a total team effort. I am very proud of how the team came together tonight."

Jo Runnels had 11 kills to lead LeTourneau on the evening. Kayla Ronda was just one kill away from a double-double, as she finished the match with nine kills and 15 digs to go along with five aces and three block assists. Alli Bordelon led the YellowJackets in digs with 19. Sarah Krippner led LETU with 17 assists and had four aces, while Kelsie Doran added 14 assists and three aces for the YellowJackets.

As a team, LeTourneau had 18 aces to Centenary's six, and the YellowJackets bested the Ladies in total team blocks, 13-6.

LETU dropped its first match of the day Friday afternoon, 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-13) to Texas Wesleyan.

"The first match we came out a little shell shocked by the speed of Texas Wesleyan's offense," Peluso said. "We grew a lot as a team in that match in our understanding of the college game and adapting our defense to an opponent. They played at a very high level."

Runnels led LeTourneau against Texas Wesleyan with eight kills. Krippner led the YellowJackets in assists with nine, while Kayla Bonina had seven digs to lead LETU.

LeTourneau will wrap up competition at the UTD Labor Day Tournament Saturday, as the YellowJackets face Texas Lutheran at 10 a.m. and Hendrix College at 12:30 p.m.