RICHARDSON -- They say there's a first time for everything. Well, LeTourneau University's volleyball team is living that now.

LeTourneau beat Hardin-Simmons, 25-17, 20-25, 25-14, 25-22, in the American Southwest Conference Championship quarterfinals Thursday night at the University of Texas at Dallas. It is LETU's first ASC postseason tournament win in program history.

"We knew it was going to be a battle coming in, and that we just had to focus on the little things," senior middle blocker Mikayla Thomas said after putting away 11 kills, hitting .304 and authoring five blocks. "So we were just encouraging one another in knowing that we all had the same goal, and it pushed us through."

The victory pushed the YellowJackets (18-13) through to Friday's 7:30 p.m. semifinals against Mary Hardin-Baylor (23-7).

LETU used a 5-0 run midway through the opening set to take a 17-11 lead. Natalie Davenport and Natalie Connelly ignited the run with a block, and then combined on a pair of putaways as Davenport set Connelly for back-to-back kills. Lexie Welton added a kill, and a fourth straight service point by Davenport completed the spurt. The Jackets extended their lead to 20-13 on a kill by Kianna Crow. After the Cowgirls cut the deficit to five, LeTourneau used a kill by Taylor Smith, an HSU error and a kill by Thomas to put the first set in the books.

The YellowJackets hit .256 in the first set, putting away 15 balls with four errors in 43 total attacks. The Cowgirls, who finished the season 12-13, were held to an .068 hitting percentage on 10 kills and seven errors in 44 attacks.

After Hardin-Simmons evened the match by winning the second set, LETU sprinted out to a 12-2 lead in the third. The Jackets widened the lead to 18-5 following kills by Welton, Davenport and Crow and a block Thomas and Welton. Crow pounded a kill to push the Jackets up, 22-12, before HSU won the next two points. LeTourneau put the set away, however, behind a kill by Crow and back-to-back aces by Davenport. 

The YellowJackets hit a match-high .294 in the third set after totaling 13 kills and three errors in 34 swings.

"Everybody was really consistent, every single player that played," LeTourneau first-year head coach Mallory Matthews said. "They all contributed, and that was a big part of tonight. They just came in with a relentless attitude, and we came out on top."

The Jackets opened a 15-7 lead in the fourth set, following a five-point run. Welton banged down a kill, Crow added another, Thomas and Welton combined on a block, Cam Taylor ripped off an ace and HSU committed a hitting error in that run. Hardin-Simmons rallied to cut LeTourneau's lead down to 18-17. After the two teams exchanged points over the next four serves, Welton kickstarted another run, this one a four-point surge, with her ninth kill of the match. Taylor Smith and Thomas added a block, and Taylor had two more service points to put LETU ahead, 24-19. The Cowgirls ran off the next three points to pull within two, but an HSU attack error ended the match.

LeTourneau held Hardin-Simmons under .069 hitting in three of the four sets. The YellowJackets finished the match with a .228 attack rate.

Crow pounded 16 kills, hit .239, had five blocks, eight digs and an ace. Welton hit .500 with no errors in 18 swings. Davenport had 36 assists, eight digs and three aces. Taylor had 21 digs and an ace. Smith had six kills and 17 digs. Connelly had six blocks and four kills. Audrey Galindo finished with 10 digs. HSU's Triniti Anderson finished with 19 kills, Kailey Currington 11 kills, Ashley Pierce 36 assists, and Sarah Bennett six kills and five blocks.

The YellowJackets outblocked the Cowgirls, 11-7.

LeTourneau last met Mary Hardin-Baylor in the ASC Championship event in 1998 when rally scoring wasn't used. It was LETU's first appearance in the league tournament.

"It's going to be a great match," Matthews said. "We just have to come in and stay focused, and have that relentless attitude that they've had all season."