LeTourneau volleyball took UT Tyler to five sets in an exciting come from behind rally at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center on Wednesday night but came up short falling 3-2 to the Patriots.
 
The YellowJackets (7-20, 0-11 ASC) played tough in the first set as five players put down kills including big points from Dolores Henson to gain an early 8-4 lead. UT Tyler took advantage of late set errors by LETU to take the opening frame.
 
The Patriots, who came into the match in second place in the ASC East Division, would get out to a quick 11-5 lead in set two and LeTourneau was unable to recover as they dropped the second game 25-16.
 
"We got off to a great start in the first set but lost focus," said head coach Scott Peluso. "But, we showed the fight that I knew we had in us in the 3rd and 4th set."
 
Senior Skylar Horan led the fight for the YellowJackets as she put down four kills in the third set including the point to give LeTourneau a 22-18 lead after a 6-1 run. The Patriots would score six unanswered points to go ahead by two (24-22). LETU would not be denied as they recorded the final four points to take the set 26-24.
 
It was back and forth between the two squads as each made runs in set number four. The YellowJackets took a one-point lead after a 7-2 run highlighted by an ace by Morgan Weaver. A three-point swing late in the set would give LETU a 24-22 lead and Skylar Horan would put the finishing touch on the game as she recorded one of her nine kills of the match.
 
In the deciding set the YellowJackets got kills from freshman Alexis Martinez and senior Jenny Olejar to tie the set at 7-7. But, UT Tyler would use an 8-1 run to take the set (15-8) and the match 3-2 over the YellowJackets. The Patriots improved to 17-5 on the season and 7-4 in conference play.
 
"It was good to see them come back and take the match to five," said Peluso. "Tyler is a really good young team and coming back from being down two sets was really good for us. We had our chances in the fifth and had it tied at 7-7 but they just executed a little better than us. I was proud of the effort tonight."
 
Senior Dolores Henson recorded 13 digs and seven kills in the match. Freshman Alexis Martinez had 10 assists to go along with her eight digs for the YellowJackets. Morgan Weaver was big at the net defensively as she notched five blocks to go along with four from Jenny Olejar.
 
LeTourneau will be back home for senior night on Friday as they take on Belhaven at 7 PM in Solheim Arena.