MARSHALL, Texas – A fight to the finish!

A phrase that puts into words the type of game that the LeTourneau volleyball team endured Tuesday night at Ornelas Gymnasium.

LeTourneau outlasted cross-town rival East Texas Baptist in a five-set American Southwest Conference showdown, 16-25, 25-22, 17-25, 25-15, 15-13. 

The YellowJackets sweep the Tigers for the regular season. LETU has now defeated ETBU in its last six meetings.

The fifth set was similar to a heavy-weight prize fight as both teams threw blows back and forth. LETU threw the first blow when Kianna Crow and Allison Smith hammered down balls from Samantha Winkel, taking a 2-1 advantage in the decisive set. The Tigers bit back, putting together a 3-0 run on back-to-back kills from Avery Reid and a putaway by Brooke O'Neal. Crow collected a serving ace and a kill, while Hannah Payan slammed one home to grant the YellowJackets the lead, 5-4. ETBU's Kiley Smink had a kill to tie the set at seven. 

This set featured 12 ties and four lead changes.

Payan would sting the Tigers again, giving LETU a one-point lead, 8-7. A kill by the Tigers' O'Neal deadlocked the set at 11, but a putaway from Crow gave the Jackets the upper hand, 12-11. East Texas Baptist tied the set at 13 when Harris blasted down a ball. A clutch setup and kill by freshmen Payan and Reina Lawson pushed LeTourneau one point away from match point. Senior Natalie Connelly flexed her muscles as she crushed down a kill from Winkel to capture the match win.

It was the fourth five-set match of the season for the Jackets, who put together a .242 attack rate. The Tigers had a .274 hitting percentage.

LeTourneau dropped the first set, hitting .176, while East Texas Baptist hit .355 to open the contest. The Jackets bounced back in the second set, slamming down a game-high 14 kills, creating a .225 attack rate. Despite ETBU jumping out to a 6-3 lead to start the set, LETU gained the lead after an attack error from the Tigers and a putaway from Crow propelled the YellowJackets to a 16-13 lead. A late surge from East Texas Baptist knotted the set at 20, but a 5-0 run led by Kaci Monk and Payan pushed the Jackets to claim set two.

LETU fell in the third set, collecting 10 kills with three errors on 32 swings, while the Tigers had 13 kills with two errors on 32 swings. 

The Jackets jumped out to a 12-5 lead after Avery Mabery pounded down a ball and Crow served up an ace. O'Neal sparked a 4-0 run for the Tigers, closing the gap, 12-9. A kill by Payan and serving ace from Winkel extended the YellowJacket lead to five. Crow delivered a thrashing spike across the net to spark another 5-0 run, ultimately closing out the set. LETU would only trail once in the set, holding ETBU to a .054 hitting percentage.
 

Inside the Numbers:

LeTourneau pushes its winning streak to five.
ETBU had 62 kills, while LETU tallied 56.
Crow tallies her seventh double-double of the season with 18 kills and 12 digs.
Payan slammed 11 kills.
Skylar Fowler and Monk both smashed down six kills for a .385 attack rate.
Connelly had three blocks, while Monk had two.
Maddy Denega led the team with 16 digs, while Lawson led the team with 21 assists.
Edge and Lawson both had three serving aces.
Each team totaled 10 serving aces.
 

Up Next:

The YellowJackets will travel to Belhaven Oct. 9 for another ASC matchup. First serve between LETU and Belhaven is at 1 p.m.