Box Score:
LONGVIEW, Texas – LeTourneau University's volleyball team fell to No. 10 nationally ranked and reigning American Southwest Conference champions Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday afternoon, 17-25, 25-17, 12-25, 21-25.
The YellowJackets dropped to 4-4 overall, 2-2 in the ASC. UMHB stays undefeated on the season, improving to 10-0, 6-0 ASC.
LETU went 2-1 on the week, all against ASC competition.
LeTourneau was led by senior outside hitter
Kianna Crow, who tallied 16 kills, 16 digs and a block throughout the contest.
Kaci Monk slammed down 10 kills, hitting .242. Monk also had four blocks and three digs.
Courtney Edge finished with 27 digs and four assists, while
Samantha Winkel had 22 assists, nine digs, and a serving ace.
Reina Lawson had 17 assists and nine digs.
Hannah Payan collected eight putaways and four digs, while
Avery Mabery had six putaways and a block.
Natalie Connelly finished the match with five kills, four blocks, four digs and two serving aces.
Allison Smith chipped in three kills and three blocks.
After falling in the first set, the Jackets picked up momentum in the second set when they outhit the visiting Crusaders. LeTourneau had a .245 attack percentage in the set, while holding Mary Hardin-Baylor to .178.
LETU took a 14-11 lead in the set on back-to-back kills by Payan and a putaway by Monk from Lawson. A kill from UMHB's Kayla Janikula shrunk the Jacket lead, 17-15, but a kill by Crow from Winkel halted the Crusaders. Behind the serving of Connelly and two more kills tacked on by Crow, the YellowJacket extended, 21-15. Monk hammered down two kills to end the hopes of a comeback for UMHB, tying the match at a set apiece.
The YellowJackets fell behind early in the third set, trailing 11-4. A dynamic block from Crow and Smith propelled the Jackets within five, but a 6-1 run by the Crusaders extended the lead, 18-8. Mary Hardin-Baylor would lead the rest of the way, taking a 2-1 advantage over LETU.
LeTourneau was held to .029 hitting in the third, while UMHB had a .265 attack rate. The Jackets had eight kills and seven errors in the set. Mary Hardin-Baylor had 13 kills and four errors.
In the fourth set, it was a slugfest between the two ASC foes. The set featured nine ties and four lead changes. The Crusaders took an 8-5 lead over the YellowJackets when Janikula tallied another kill. After a questionable call by the officials and a yellow card issued to LeTourneau, the Jackets became fired up, tying the match at 11 after a UMHB error. Connelly and Mabery both blasted down a ball to give the YellowJackets a 13-12 advantage of the Crusaders. Mary Hardin-Baylor would go on a 7-2 run behind three kills from Janikula, pushing ahead of LETU, 19-15. Putaways by Smith from Lawson and Monk from Edge, sandwiched between a UMHB error, knotted the set up at 20. Mary Hardin-Baylor's Alli Pierce had a kill to spark a 4-0 run by the Crusaders, giving them a 24-20 lead. UMHB would put the match away when Sarah Grace Merry slammed down a winner.
The YellowJackets had 50 kills, while the Crusaders totaled 55. Both teams tallied seven blocks a piece. LETU put together a .169 attack percentage. Mary Hardin-Baylor hit .233.
LeTourneau will be back in action at Solheim Arena Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. against the University of Dallas.
