Box Score:
LONGVIEW, Texas – A rivalry at its finest!
LeTourneau University's volleyball team rallied from a one-set deficit to defeat crosstown conference rival East Texas Baptist University in a five-set marathon Tuesday night. The YellowJackets pulled out the comeback victory, 20-25, 27-25, 24-26, 26-24, 15-13, to move to .500 on the season.
LETU improved to 3-3 overall, 1-1 in the American Southwest Conference. ETBU fell to 2-5, 1-2.
It was the first five-set match of the season for the Jackets, who hit .137. The Tigers put together a .106 attack rate throughout the contest.
LeTourneau dropped the first set, hitting .137, while ETBU had a .227 hitting percentage to open the match. The YellowJackets rebounded in the second set, holding ETBU to a .09 attack percentage and hitting .136. LETU used a kill by freshman outside hitter
Hannah Payan from
Kianna Crow to ignite a 4-0 run, giving the Jackets a 14-11 advantage in the second set. The Tigers clawed its way back, after a kill by Annie Harris tied the set at 17. Back-to-back kills by Crow from
Courtney Edge and a kill by
Natalie Connelly from
Samantha Winkel, put the YellowJackets ahead, 23-21. A huge block from LETU's
Kaci Monk pushed the Jackets one point away from grabbing the second set, but the Tigers of ETBU thought otherwise, going on a 4-0 run to take a 25-24 lead over LeTourneau. After three attack errors committed by East Texas Baptist, the Jackets snagged set two, tying the match, 1-1.
The YellowJackets blasted 16 kills in the second set, while ETBU had 15.
LeTourneau jumped out to a 7-1 lead to open the third set after a kill by Monk and serving ace by Connelly. The Tigers cut the lead to one, 17-16, after an attack error by the Jackets and a serving ace from Avery Reid. Crow slammed home a kill to push the Jacket lead to two, 22-20. A late run by East Texas Baptist propelled the Tigers to claim set three.
In the pivotal fourth set, which featured seven ties, LETU had two putaways from Crow and Monk to give them a four-point cushion, 7-3. Back-to-back kills from ETBU's Kayla Rainey knotted the game back up at 14. After a back-and-forth slugfest from the two rivals, a service error by the Tigers and a dynamic kill by
Allison Smith from
Reina Lawson gave the Jackets the set win, tying the match, 2-2.
LeTourneau had 13 kills and four errors for a .176 attack rate in the fourth set. ETBU was held to .08 on 12 kills and eight errors.
The YellowJackets trailed 4-3 to start the final set, but two kills by Monk and Smith and an attack error by ETBU, put the Jackets up, 6-4. A huge block from the Tigers' Bailey O'Bannon and Reid stalemated the set, 9-9. A kill by Smith from Lawson broke the tie, sparking a 4-1 run, giving the YellowJackets a 13-10 lead. After back-to-back kills from Reid and O'Bannon, ETBU pulled within one, 13-12. Freshman Monk came up big for LETU, hammering down a kill after a nice setup from Winkel, pushing the Jackets one away from match point. A costly error by the Tigers clinched the comeback for LETU, giving the Jackets the match win.
Crow finished with 19 kills, 18 digs, an assist and serving ace. Monk had nine kills and a career-high five blocks. Edge had 29 digs and six assists, while
Maddy Denega had 20 digs. Winkel finished with 27 assists and 12 digs. Connelly, Payan, and Smith all had eight putaways in the contest. Connelly also had nine digs and Smith had five blocks. Payan put together a .444 attack rate, while Lawson totaled 17 assists in the win.
LeTourneau tallied 57 kills, while ETBU had 55. The YellowJackets outblocked East Texas Baptist, 10-9.
LETU will host Concordia Texas Friday at 6 p.m. to start its two-match homestand.
