RICHARDSON, Texas – LeTourneau University's volleyball team dropped a pair of American Southwest Conference matches at the University of Texas at Dallas Saturday, losing 25-23, 25-22, 25-17 and 25-23, 25-23, 25-18.
In the first match, the YellowJackets (7-2, 4-2 American Southwest Conference) finished with 31 kills and 11 attack errors. The Comets (6-0, 6-0) had 54 kills and 19 attack errors. LETU hit .187, while UT Dallas had a .257 attack percentage.
LeTourneau jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set after a kill by Kianna Crow from Kylie Cobb. The YellowJackets led most of the first set until a 9-2 run from the Comets put them behind, 18-17. UT Dallas totaled eight kills during that run. A pair of kills by Natalie Connelly and Cobb, both on assists from Samantha Winkel, halted the run to give LETU a 19-18 advantage. UT Dallas put together another run that ultimately secured the set win. The second set featured 11 ties and five lead changes. Despite the Jackets creating a .257 attack percentage compared to the Comets' .208 attack rate, UT Dallas snagged the set to take a 2-0 match lead. LETU struggled in the final set, finishing with seven kills and four errors. The Comets had 17 kills and seven errors in a set UT Dallas only trailed twice.
Crow finished with 10 kills, three assists and seven digs. Natalie Davenport finished with 17 assists, three kills and eight digs. Cobb finished with six kills and 11 digs, and Connelly had four kills and two blocks. Courtney Edge added 20 digs. UT Dallas' Catherine Croft had 17 kills, three blocks and seven digs.
In the second match, the Comets held LETU to a .088 attack percentage. UT Dallas also put down 47 kills, and served up 11 aces, compared to the YellowJackets' 25 kills and four aces.
LeTourneau fought hard in the first set to pull close to the Comets after a five-point run, behind the serving of Edge. That allowed the Jackets to gain a one-point lead. UT Dallas put together a 5-0 run of their own, putting the Jackets away in the set. In the second set, the Comets slammed 18 kills, despite the YellowJackets creating a 7-0 run midway through the set, UT Dallas created a .208 attack rate to down the Jackets. In the third and final set, the Comets put together a .257 attack percentage, while LETU finished with a .063 attack percentage. UT Dallas never trailed in the final set, ending the hopes for a comeback for the YellowJackets.
Connelly had seven kills on 12 attempts, while Cobb added seven kills of her own, two aces and seven digs. Edge finished with 16 digs and an ace. Crow had six kills, five digs and an ace. Winkel finished with nine assists and six digs, while Davenport had nine assists and five digs. Freshman Allison Smith added five blocks.
LETU will play at East Texas Baptist in a pair of matches Tuesday.
