LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University's volleyball team swept Mississippi University for Women in a pair of matches Friday at Solheim Arena in their final game of the regular season. The YellowJackets (16-5, 11-5 American Southwest Conference) beat the Owls, 25-11, 25-10, 25-13, in the first match. LETU swept the second match, 25-7, 25-11, 25-11.
In the first match,
Kianna Crow had 13 kills, seven digs and a serving ace.
Skylar Fowler tallied 11 kills and had a .733 attack rate, while
Natalie Connelly had six kills, four digs, an ace and hit. 600.
Samantha Winkel had 21 assists, five digs and two serving aces.
Natalie Davenport totaled 10 assists and four digs.
Madison Denega and
Allison Smith both chipped in five kills and a block.
Avery Mabery had three kills and a dig.
Courtney Edge had 16 digs and five assists, while
Kylie Cobb finished with eight digs and two serving aces.
Rebecca Faulhaber and
Addison Mints each had two assists.
LETU started off hot, a kill by Connelly and an ace by crow sparked the Jackets to open the first match on an 8-1 run. A serving ace by Cobb pushed the YellowJacket lead, 14-4. They YellowJackets recorded six aces in the match. After back-to-back kills by Fowler and Smith from Mints and Edge, LeTourneau put the Owls away to claim the first set. The Jackets hit a whopping .650 in that first set. In the second set, LeTourneau stayed consistent, leading MUW, 9-3, after two kills from Fowler and Connelly. Two back-to-back errors from the YellowJackets closed the gap, 9-6. Behind the serving of Winkel, LETU put together a 5-0 run to widen the margin. In that run, Denega, Crow and Fowler all pounded down a kill, giving the YellowJackets a 17-8 advantage. A kill by the MUW's Jadelyn Trice, halted the Jacket run. Denega slammed down a kill to get LETU back on a roll. Three kills in a row by Crow would shut down the Owls, giving LeTourneau a 2-0 lead in the match. The YellowJackets jumped all over MUW in the final set, leaping out to an 8-1 lead, forcing an Owl timeout. Two kills each from Fowler, Crow and Connelly would push the LETU lead, 18-5. A serving ace from Cobb put the finishing touches on the match win.
LeTourneau totaled 44 kills, while MUW had 17. The Jackets held the Owls to .000 attack percentage, while hitting .432.
Winkel recorded 17 assists, four digs and a career high five serving aces in the second match. Edge tallied 22 digs, a season high nine assists and an ace. Crow had 10 kills and 11 digs. Fowler had eight kills, while Denega chipped in five kills and three digs. Fowler and Denega hit .727 and .455, respectively. Connelly, Smith and Cobb each had four kills. Cobb also had 14 digs and three serving aces. Connelly recorded three blocks, two of those blocks being solos.
Camryn Hill had three kills, two digs and a block. Davenport totaled two kills, 13 assists and seven digs.
In the first set of the second match, LETU claimed the first five points, holding a 5-0 lead over the visiting Owls. After an attack error by MUW's Camryn Johnson, the YellowJackets triggered a 7-0 run to increase the lead, 14-4. LeTourneau never trailed throughout the entire first set. Two serving aces by Cobb and a kill by fowler from Winkel would push the LETU lead, 21-7. A 4-0 run by Jackets, capped off by a beautiful solo block from Connelly, downed MUW in the first set. The YellowJackets stung the Owls in the second set, getting out to a 10-0 lead, causing an MUW timeout. After three serving aces by MUW's Evelyn Pruitt, the Owls put together their own run, closing the gap, 10-5. Cobb hammered down a kill from Winkel to ignite a 11-0 run for the YellowJackets. Back-to-back kills by Crow and Connelly, both coming Davenport, powered LETU to a second set win. LeTourneau totaled 16 kills in the second set. In the decisive set, the Owls did not go down without a fight, taking a 5-0 lead to start the set. The Jackets came roaring back, after kills from Denega, Smith and Connelly and a serving ace from Edge, LETU would take a 13-9 lead. LeTournea would lead for the rest of the way, going on a 12-1 run to finish the Owls, behind the serving of Crow. Denega, Hill, Davenport, Crow and Fowler all tallied a kill to carry LETU to the match win.
LeTourneau hit .352 in the second match, while holding MUW to a -.087 attack rate. The Jackets recorded 10 aces, while the Owls had five. LETU outblocked MUW, 4-1.
The YellowJackets will meet McMurry University (12-4) in the ASC Championship Tournament quarterfinals 12 p.m. Friday at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
