LONGVIEW, Texas – Peaking at the right time, LETU volleyball enters their first-round contest in the American Southwest Conference Championship Thursday, hosted by UMHB in Belton, Texas, against Concordia on a three-match winning streak.
The Yellowjackets secured the No. 3 seed with wins over Belhaven, Sul Ross State and Howard Payne the final week of the season to finish 16-9 overall, including 11-7 in league play. Sixth-seeded Concordia Texas ended play at 10-14 on the campaign, posting a 10-8 mark against conference foes.
LETU is making its fifth appearance in the ASC Championship, including each of the last four seasons. Head coach
Mallory Matthews' squad qualified for the event in each of her three campaigns. She is the fastest coach to reach 50 wins, with the team's 3-0 victory over Howard Payne last time out.
Offensive Weapons
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Kianna Crow leads the team with 257 kills, extending her school record out to 1,346 in her four seasons.
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Hannah Payan and
Kaci Monk are battling it out for the most by a freshman on the team. Payan's 172 is second on the team, besting Monk's 170 by just two.
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Samantha Winkel (379),
Natalie Davenport (272) and
Reina Lawson (256) jumpstarts the offense, combining for 907 helpers.
Defensive Weapons
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Courtney Edge patrols the court looking to keep her team in the rally, digging out almost 500 attacks by the opponents in 95 sets, averaging 5.06 per game.
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Allison Smith and
Natalie Connelly are a formidable force at the net for the opposition. The duo register's nearly 84 percent of the Yellowjackets blocks this season, with Smith claiming an 80-79 edge over Connelly.
History against Concordia-Texas
- The Yellowjackets trail 3-28 in the all-time series.
- CTX earned a four-set victory in the 2018 tournament, the only meeting between the two sides in the postseason.
- LETU's last win was early this fall in Longview, a come-from-behind triumph Sept. 17. Trailing 2-0, the Yellowjackets rallied to win the final three sets.
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