SHERMAN, Texas – Looking to build momentum heading into American Southwest Conference play next weekend, the LeTourneau University volleyball team did just that by dispatching Sul Ross State in four sets before turning in a complete performance against Paul Quinn College to close out the Austin College Invitational in Sherman, Texas on Saturday, September 8th.
 
With the victories, LETU moves to 3-4 overall while going 3-1 on the weekend at the Austin College Invitational. Scores of the match against Sul Ross saw the YellowJackets win 25-19, 23-25, 25-12, and 25-17 while scores against Paul Quinn were 25-11, 25-4, and 25-10.
 
"Our focus this weekend was to make smarter plays and take the big swings when they were necessary" said head coach Ashley Tiernan in a post-match interview. "We did a great job moving the ball around and different athletes stepped up when it was needed." "Being able to lean on different players and take the pressure off of each other was a big factor in our success this weekend."
 
Vs. Sul Ross How It Happened:

• LeTourneau wasted little time against the Lobos to jump out to an early lead, scoring six of the first seven points of the first set to go up 6-1.
• Holding their lead, LETU would see Sul Ross battle back to close within three late in the set at 22-19, but score the final three points of the set and claim an early match lead.
• A nip-and-tuck start to the second set saw neither team lead by more than two until a three-point rally by the YellowJackets late in the set allowed LeTourneau to claim a 20-16 lead.
• Not to be outdone, Sul Ross managed to go on a three-point run of their own to close back within a single point at 21-20 before overcoming a 23-20 deficit to score the final five points of the set and tie the match at 1-1.
• Determined to make a statement at the start of the third set, the YellowJackets would jump out all over the Lobos and score the first six points to force an SRSU timeout before building their lead to seven at 11-4.
• LeTourneau's lead would continue to grow throughout the duration of the set, ending things on a 9-2 run for a 25-12 victory.
• Needing just one more set win to claim the match, the YellowJackets would find themselves in another tight set as the Lobos would not go down without a fight while keeping within two for much of the set.
• The turning point of the fourth set would come with LETU down 13-12, as a YellowJacket timeout seemed to be just what was needed as LeTourneau scored the next six points to claim an 18-13 lead.
• Runs by both teams would end up finishing the match as a 3-0 Sul Ross run would be sandwiched between 4-0 and 3-0 runs by the YellowJackets as LeTourneau claimed a 25-17 win.

Key Stats:

• A big part of the match for LETU would be a 14-0 advantage in service aces as six different players recorded at least one service ace.
• Leading the charge at the service line was sophomore Cam Taylor with five aces to go along with a career-high 30 set assists and seven digs.
• Earning her fourth-straight double-double, freshman Kianna Crow would lead all players in the match with 16 kills as the Spring, Texas native would be named to the Austin College Invitational All-Tournament Team.

Vs. Paul Quinn How It Happened:

• A slow start to the first set for LeTourneau would quickly be overcome towards the middle of the set as the YellowJackets would go on a 9-1 run to break open a 6-4 lead into a 15-5 lead.
• The LeTourneau domination would continue into the latter stages of the set as Paul Quinn would be unable to get any momentum going while seeing LETU claim a 25-11 first set win.
• Five straight points to open up the second set managed to set the tone for LETU as the Tigers would be forced to take a timeout at 11-3.
• With the score at 14-4 in favor of the YellowJackets, LeTourneau managed to end the set on an 11-0 run and put themselves in a position to earn their second sweep of the weekend.
• Focused on closing out the match, LETU would trail early on at 2-1 before breaking open the set with a 6-0 run and score 14 of the next 15 points to take a commanding 15-3 lead.
• The lead would continue to grow for the YellowJackets, with the largest lead of the set coming at 23-7 before claiming a 25-10 win to sweep the Tigers.

Key Stats:

• Limiting their attack errors to just a total of eight, LETU would manage to finish with a .341 attack percentage in the match while hitting .300 or better in all three sets.
• The LeTourneau scoring attack would wind up being a balanced effort as nine different players would record at least one kill with senior Ashlyn Johnson and freshman Lexie Welton leading the way with six kills each.
• On the defensive side of things, Audrey Galindo led all players with 11 digs while Taylor and senior Liz Williams added seven each.

What's Next?
One final tune up prior to ASC East Division play is next in store for LETU as the YellowJackets will take the short trip west on I-20 on Tuesday, September 11th to take on the University of Texas-Tyler at 7 p.m. The match will not count towards American Southwest Conference standings as the Patriots are in their first year of NCAA Division II Reclassification and will exit the ASC following 2018-19.