Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The LeTourneau University lost to Mississippi College in five and East Texas Baptist in three on Saturday in the final day of the ASC Interpod Tournament hosted at the Solheim Arena.

The YellowJackets (5-12, 0-6) lost to ETBU, 25-20, 25-19, 25-14 to begin the day. Despite the loss, sophomore Kayla Ronda and Dolores Kroese each had seven kills to pace an attack that hit .115. The frontline for LeTourneau had seven blocks including four block assists by freshman Elyse Wright.

East Texas Baptist (13-5, 3-2 ASC) was led by Melanie Moyer, who had a match-high 11 kills as the Tigers recorded a .275  hitting percentage. A two-setter attack utilized by the Tigers saw Nicole Buzzasrd and Kayla Taylor organizing the attack with 13 and 11 assists, respectively. Libero Hannah Jones had a match-high 18 digs.

In the opening set, ETBU raced out to a 5-0 advantage but the Yellow Jackets closed within two on a pair of occasions but were unable to claw forward with the lead. The second set started close as the two teams went back and forth until a brief spurt by the Tigers put them ahead for the remainder of the set. The third set was controlled by the visitors as they led from start to finish.

To close out the day, the YellowJackets dropped a heartbreaking decision to the Choctaws of Mississippi College, 13-25, 25-23, 14-25, 19-25, 15-12.

LeTourneau was sparked by the service play of Kayla Ronda, who had 10 aces in the defeat. The 10 aces by Ronda are a LSC record for a five-set match. Ronda had a solid al-around match as she also had 12 digs for her fourth double double of the season to go along with six kills. It was a complete team effort in the contest for the YellowJackets with Elyse Wright being a formidable force at the net with nine block assists. Alyssa Eden nearly had a triple double with nine kills, eight digs to go along with 15 assists.

Mississippi College (3-10, 1-5 ASC) was led by Rachel Janssen, who had a match-high 15 kills and her attack was set up Pollyann Scruggs, who had a match-high 34 assists. The Choctaws overcame a -.041 hitting percentage to win the match in five.

The YellowJackets dominated the first set as they jumped out to a 16-1 lead and never looked back. LeTourneau took advantage of a MC attack that hit -.275 and Ronda kept the Choctaw defense on its toes with five service aces.

The second set, Mississippi College rallied from an early 5- 2 deficit to go on a 9-2 run on the strength of Natalie Phelan, who delivered a pair of key kills and a block in the spurt. With an 11-7 lead, the Choctaws built a lead they would not relinquish.

The third set saw the momentum swing back over to the host YellowJackets. In the set, much like the first set, it was the service game of Ronda and strong play by the LETU frontline that sparked the home team to the 25-14 victory. Also, in the set, Eden had three kills, three assists and two digs to lead LETU.

In the fourth set, Mississippi College led from start to finish to force a fifth and deciding set. Rachel Janssen and Arielle Laurent each had three kills and Kaylan Burross came off the bench to add two for the visiting Choctaws.

The tightly fifth set saw neither team sustain a lead and the momentum until a brief two-point spurt by the Choctaws gave the visitors a 13-11 advantage. With the slightest of cushion, they capitalized when they got a block by Nicole Horton and took advantage of a service error by the YellowJackets to win the match.

The next match for LeTourneau is on Wednesday, Oct. 2 when they travel to Shreveport, Louisiana to face Centenary, who they defeated in straight sets at home on Sept. 11.