LONGVIEW, Texas -- Gold beat Blue, 25-19, 23-25, 25-14, in LeTourneau University volleyball's intrasquad scrimmage Thursday evening at Solheim Arena.
With players switching from side to side in a rotational jersey format, Gold took command early, and then finished off the match with a flurry. Gold pounded 45 kills on 102 attack attempts for a .275 hitting percentage. Blue hit .104 with 30 kills on 106 attempts. Gold had double-digit kills in each of the three sets, bashing 16 in the first and second. Blue had 15 kills, while hitting .233 in the second set.
"They were just told to get after it, and make sure we have high energy and work on everything we've been working on the past couple of days." first-year coach
Mallory Matthews said. "We had great competition, a lot of long rallies were going on, and that's exactlt what I want to see from this team."
Kianna Crow had 11 kills and seven digs for Gold.
Mikayla Thomas had eight kills, and hit .500.
Natalie Davenport and
Lexie Welton each had seven kills. Davenport dished out 30 assists, hit .750, and had nine digs.
Cam Taylor had two aces, and
Taylor Smith scooped up eight digs. Kiara Johnson finished with five blocks, including two solos.
Natalie Connelly pounded 11 kills, had a .500 attack percentage and two blocks. While playing for Blue, Thomas had nine kills and three blocks.
Samantha Winkel had 10 assists, and
Rebecca Faulhaber added nine.
Gold had a .289 attack rate in both of the first two sets. Blue converted 16 of 24 sideouts in the second set for 66 percent. Gold had a 62 percent sideout rate in the second set, converting on 15 of 24 opportunities.
The YellowJackets will host Henderson State at 6 p.m. Wednesday in an exhibition match.
"It will be really nice to see them competing against outside competition," Matthews said, "and Henderson State is a great program."