JACKSON, Miss. -- LeTourneau University's volleyball team split its final two matches of the regular season Saturday at the Millsaps College Triangular. The YellowJackets beat host Millsaps, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21. They dropped their final match to Loyola (La.), 25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 30-28.

In the win over the Majors, LeTourneau and Millsaps battled through 20 ties and 20 lead changes, including eight in the third set and 10 in the fourth. LETU had 50 kills in 167 attacks. Millsaps had 52 kills in 180 swings. The YellowJackets had nine aces to the Majors' three.

Kianna Crow finished 12 kills and 20 digs. Mikayla Thomas had nine kills, a career-high five aces and three blocks. Taylor Smith had nine kills, 22 digs and two aces. Natalie Connelly had eight kills and four blocks. Lexie Welton had seven kills and four blocks. Cam Taylor finished with 30 digs. Natalie Davenport had 37 assists and 10 digs.

The Jackets pounded 16 kills, and hit .243 in the first set. LeTourneau took a 16-10 lead after an ace by Thomas and Millsaps error. A kill by Connelly and attack error by the Majors extended the lead to 19-13. Welton had a kill, and Thomas added another as the Jackets climbed ahead, 22-14. Millsaps drew within 23-17, but Thomas put away the next point, and a Majors service error two serves later closed out the opening set.

After Millsaps tied the match by winning the second set, the YellowJackets fell behind 17-12 in the third. The Majors bumped their lead to 20-16 before the Jackets ran off the next three points on a kill by Welton, an ace by Crow and a Millsaps error. Back-to-back points by the Majors gave them a 22-19 lead, but the YellowJackets tied it when Millsaps committed three straight errors. Erica Bennett's kill put the Majors ahead, 23-22, but LETU secured the final three points on a kill by Davenport, a Millsaps attack error and a punctuation putaway by Audrey Galindo. 

LeTourneau had 17 kills and hit .224 in the final set. The Jackets used a 4-0 run spurred behind kills by Crow, Welton and Connelly to take an 18-14 lead. Connelly had two kills, and combined on a block with Welton to extend the lead to 20-15. The Majors cut it to 22-19 before the YellowJackets cashed in on a Millsaps serving error and an ace by Galindo. After Millsaps won the next two serves, LeTourneau wrapped it up on a block by Thomas and Davenport.

The YellowJackets finished with a .138 attack percentage. Millsaps hit .150.

In the loss to Loyola, the two teams battled through 19 ties and 19 lead changes, including 14 in the fourth set. LeTourneau hit .183, while Loyola had a .229 attack rate.

LETU pounded 17 kills with just two errors for a blistering .455 hitting percentage in the second set. In that set, the Jackets went on a 5-0 run, touched off by a Connelly kill to take an 11-6 lead. The Wolf Pack pulled within 17-14 before LeTourneau ran off the next four points on a block by Connelly, kill by Crow and two straight aces by Davenport. Crow banged down a kill and then fired off an ace to extend the lead to 23-15 before Loyola secured the next three points. But Julie Smith and Crow each pounded kills on the final two serves to tie the match at 1-1.

After Loyola won the third set to take a 2-1 lead, the Jackets rattled off six straight points to take control, 21-16. Three combination blocks by Welton and Connelly and a pair of putaways by Crow highlighted the run. LETU crept ahead, 23-19 on a Wolf Pack error, but Loyola responded with three straight points to cut the gap to one. A block by Taylor Smith and Thomas moved the YellowJackets within a point of tying the match, but the Wolf Pack won the next two serves to knot it at 24-24. Crow gave LeTourneau a 27-26 lead on a kill before Loyola tied it again. Crow blasted another kill to make it 28-27, but the Wolf Pack ran off the final three points to clinch the match.

Crow pounded 19 kills, and had two aces and 16 digs. Thomas had 12 kills, hit .290, and added two aces and two blocks. Taylor Smith had 11 kills and 18 digs. Davenport finished with 41 assists, 10 digs and three aces. Taylor had 31 digs. Connelly had six kills and five blocks.

The YellowJackets (17-13) will meet Hardin-Simmons (12-12) in the American Southwest Conference quarterfinals 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the University of Texas at Dallas.

NET NOTES: Cam Taylor broke Alli Bordelon's single-season school record for digs (501) set in 2015. Taylor has 556 entering the ASC quarterfinals.