PHOTOS
LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University's volleyball team swept East Texas Baptist University in a pair of matches Wednesday at Solheim Arena. The YellowJackets (14-5, 11-5 American Southwest Conference) won the first match, 25-12, 26-24, 25-8, 25-13, before winning the second, 25-12, 25-21, 26-24. With these two wins, LETU clinched the second seed entering the ASC Championship Tournament April 9-10.
Kianna Crow had 16 kills, 10 digs, three serving aces and two blocks in the first match. Madison Denega had nine kills, 15 digs, and hit .261. Allison Smith totaled eight kills, four blocks and a .313 attack rate, while Camryn Hill had a career-high eight kills. Hill also had two blocks, and hit .250. Samantha Winkel had 22 assists, five digs, a kill and an ace. Natalie Daveport contributed 17 assists, seven digs and two kills. Courtney Edge had 27 digs, four assists and an ace. Natalie Connelly and Skylar Fowler each had two kills. Connelly and Fowler had three and two blocks, respectively.
After dropping the first set, the YellowJackets used a 7-0 run to take a 12-9 advantage over the Tigers (8-9, 7-9 ASC) in the second set. During the run, Davenport, Crow and Hill each slammed down a kill. After a couple ETBU attack errors and a kill by Hill from Davenport, LETU extended its lead to 17-12. Denega and Hill each had a pair of kills to secure the second set win.
In the third set, LeTourneau raced out to an 11-3 lead. A 6-0 run for the YellowJackets cushioned the lead to 17-5. A dynamic block by Connelly and Fowler, and a kill by Crow from Winkel ignited LETU to a third set win. The YellowJackets put together a .357 attack rate compared to the .152 attack percentage in the second set.
Crow got things started for the YellowJackets in the final set, slamming down a kill from Davenport as LETU jumped out to a 10-2 lead. After a kill from ETBU's Allie Fennell, the Tigers put together a 5-0 run to shrink the Jackets lead to 10-7. Behind the serving of Winkel, LeTourneau took a 19-9 lead. Back-to-back kills from Crow and Fowler put ETBU away, ending the set and the match.
LETU had 48 kills, while East Texas Baptist had 27. The Jackets outblocked the Tigers, 8-5.
In the second match, Smith had a career-high 10 kills and seven blocks. Crow had 10 kills, 13 digs and two blocks. Denega had six kills, nine digs, two aces and a block, while Connelly had five kills, five digs, two aces and two blocks. Davenport tallied 17 assists and four digs, and Winkel had 13 assists, five digs and an ace. Hill had three kills and a career-high three blocks, while Fowler had two kills and a career-high three blocks. Edge had 19 digs and an ace.
To start the second match, Fowler pounded a kill on an assist from Edge, putting the YellowJackets ahead, 12-5. LETU didn't trail the entire first set. Back-to-back kills from Smith on assists from Winkel ultimately ended the Tigers' hopes for a comeback. In the second set, a 5-0 run by ETBU put the Jackets down, 7-4. Denega slammed down a kill, and Connelly added an ace to tie it 7-7. After a kill by Smith, the YellowJackets sparked a 7-0 run to take a 14-8 advantage. A kill by ETBU's Macy Guerrero knotted it up again at 15-15. Crow put down a kill to put the Jackets back up 17-15, but a surge by the Tigers gave them a 21-19 lead over the Jackets. Behind the dynamic serving of Connelly, LETU created a 6-0 run to take the second set win. Denega put down two kills, while Davenport, Hill, Smith and Crow all tallied a kill. The Jackets produced a .243 attack rate in the second set. In the decisive set that featured nine ties and eight lead changes, ETBU held a 23-18 lead. A kill by Crow from Davenport and an ETBU attack error pulled the Jackets within two, 23-20. A kill from ETBU's Ainsley Reeve brought the Tigers within one point of the set point, but the YellowJackets had other plans. LeTourneau put together a phenomenal 6-0 run to close out the Tigers in the final set. In that run, Denega pounded down a kill, Hill and Smith batted down two back-to-back blocks, Connelly added an ace, and Denega and Hill had a block to send the Tigers home.
The Jackets had six aces compared to the ETBU's three. LETU tallied 38 kills, while East Texas Baptist had 30. LeTourneau outblocked the Tigers, 9-5.
The YellowJackets will be back in action Friday against Mississippi University for Women at Solheim Arena for their final game of the regular season.
