LONGVIEW -- The LeTourneau volleyball team made quick work of visiting Belhaven with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-7) victory in the season opener on Thursday evening inside Solheim Arena.
The win gave new head coach
Alison Williams her first at the helm of the program. It was also the ninth straight win for LeTourneau (1-0) over Belhaven (0-1) in the all-time series.
LeTourneau never trailed in the match and hit a robust .391 as a team with 34 kills on 64 total attempts.
Hannah Payan led the way with eight kills and a .429 percentage, while
Avery Mabery Morgan added six kills and a .625 hitting percentage and two blocks.
Meghan Womack and
Emma Smith each had five kills, with Smith hitting .714.
Natalie Davenport had 13 assists and a pair of service aces, while
Reina Lawson totaled 12 assists.
Allison Smith tallied three blocks and
Morgan Nix led the back row with nine digs.
In each of the three sets, LeTourneau built an early lead. The Yellowjackets took the first three points of the opening frame, capped by an
Allison Smith kill. A 7-2 spurt later in the set gave LeTourneau a 13-6 edge and the lead grew to 20-13. Davenport produced two aces as the Yellowjackets closed out the set with a 5-0 run to take a 25-13 victory.
In the second set, LeTourneau hit .400 as a team and scored the first eight points en route to a 25-14 win. Belhaven closed the margin to 19-14, but back-to-back kills from
Emma Smith and Payan got the momentum back in the Yellowjackets' favor as the hosts scored the final six points to clinch the set.
Another quick start in the third sealed the sweep for LeTourneau. Hitting .519 in the frame, the Yellowjackets led 7-1 early on and cruised to the victory.
Belhaven received three kills from Caitlin Torok and Rylee White, while Miriam Ateca added 12 assists.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE MATCH
UP NEXT
LeTourneau opens ASC play on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at home against Hardin-Simmons. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
