The LeTourneau University volleyball team closed out its opening weekend of action with a pair of five-set victories at the TLU Bulldog Classic on Saturday. LeTourneau started the day with a 25-15, 18-25, 24-26, 25-20, 15-13 win over Schreiner and followed that up with a 25-16, 25-12, 19-25, 29-31, 15-9 win over Fairleigh Dickinson to even its record at 2-2 on the season.

"We played some of the best offensive volleyball in my four years at LeTourneau this weekend," said head coach Scott Peluso. "Our opening set against TLU could have been the most complete offensive set in my tenure and throughout the tournament our offense showed signs of what we have been building toward the last three years. Overallm this weekend I was pleased with our effort. We struggled with consistency at times but the team never stopped working hard even when our backs were against the wall. Our outside hitters, Kayla (Ronda) and Dolores (Kroese), came up big for us in critical moments. I was proud of their poise and ability to focus to the end of both our five set wins." 

In the win over Schreiner, sophomore Dolores Kroese and freshman Nicole Mosley each had a double double. Kroese had 14 digs and 13 kills; plus Mosley in her third collegiate match had 18 assists and 12 digs to lead the YellowJackets.

Kroese had four kills and four digs in the first and fourth set that were both won by LETU. In the deciding fifth set, junior Kayla Ronda rose to the occasion with six of her 11 kills to clinch the victory. Plus, sophomore Marissa Anderson had six of her team-high 22 digs.

Another key factor in the win for the YellowJackets was the service game. In the win, LETU had 14 service aces including four from Ronda and three from Mosely.

In the first set, the two teams went back and forth until a kill by Kroese and a service ace by Ronda sparked a 9-1 run for an 18-10 lead en route to a 25-15 win. Kroese had four kills and four digs, Ronda had two service aces and Mosley registered five assist and three digs.

Schreiner won the second set on the strength of starting the set with a 9-2 run even though LETU out hit the Mountaineers, .139 to .056. Schreiner edged the YellowJackets, 26-24, in the third set and out hit LETU, .258 to -.025.

The YellowJackets rallied to win the next two sets to win the match. In the fourth set, a 7-0 spurt earlier into the set put LETU ahead 15-7 and for the rest of the set. In the spurt, sophomore Skylar Horan had a pair of kills to spark the attack.

With the match to be decided in the fifth set and the set tied at 12, back-to-back kills by Ronda provided LETU a two-put cushion, 14-12. Following a service error by the YellowJackets cut the lead to one, LETU clinched the win on an attack error by the Mountaineers to win the set and the match.

The YellowJackets closed out the day with juniors Kayla Ronda and Alli Bordelon each recording a double double in a five-set win over Fairleigh Dickinson. Ronda had 15 kills and 10 digs to go along with four service aces and Bordelon had 27 assists and 10 digs in the win.

Also, in the win, sophomore Elyse Wright had 11 kills, three service aces and three block assists, freshman Savanna Stutts added nine kills and sophomore Dolores Kroese had a team-high 18 digs and contributed seven kills.

Out of the gate, LETU led the first two sets from start to finish for an early 2-0 lead. In the first set, Wright paced an attack that hit .233 with six of her 11 kills to go with two service aces. In the second set, Ronda led a balanced attack with four kills as LETU hit .300 in the win. After leading the first two sets from start to finish, Fairleigh Dickinson won the next two sets to even the contest at two sets apiece.

With the match in the fifth and deciding set, momentum moved to the LeTourneau side quickly as the YellowJackets quickly built a 6-1 lead. Fairleigh Dickinson rallied to tie the set at 6; however, LETU capitalized on an attack error and a Ronda kill to regain the lead for the rest of the set en route to a 15-9 win in the fifth set to clinch the match.

Next on the schedule for LeTourneau is a trip to the Austin College Tournament, Sept. 5-6 where they will face Sul Ross State and host Austin College on Sept. 5 and Hendrix College and Texas Lutheran on Sept. 6.