MARSHALL, Texas -- For a fourth straight match, the LeTourneau volleyball team found itself in a fifth set.
The road atmosphere at rival ETBU did not faze the visiting YellowJackets as LeTourneau took a 3-2 win (25-20, 17-25, 25-23, 20-25, 15-13) in front of a raucous crowd inside Ornelas Arena on Tuesday night.
Hannah Payan had 13 kills and 20 digs to lead three LeTourneau (8-5, 4-3 ASC) players in double-figure kills.
Allison Smith added 11 kills and four blocks while
Kaci Monk tallied 10 kills in the win.
Natalie Davenport and
Reina Lawson each had 19 assists and both recorded double-doubles as Lawson had 18 digs and Davenport 13.
Morgan Nix had a career-high 40 digs, the most of any player in a five-set match in program history, to lead the back row.
Ty Shannon also collected 18 digs.
After the teams split the first two sets, the tightly-played contest came down to the deciding frame. Seven ties and two lead changes occurred in the fifth, but it was LeTourneau that had the final answer. Trailing 11-9, the YellowJackets scored four straight to grab a 13-11 lead. Monk and Smith began the stretch with back-to-back kills before Davenport notched two of her three aces on the night to cap the run.
A Payan kill two points later gave LeTourneau its first match-point opportunity at 14-12. ETBU fended off that on Graycee Mosley's 26th kill of the night, but the YellowJackets sealed the win on the next rally with a kill from
Kaylyn Taylor.
Taylor had four kills in the match with seven digs and
Avery Mabery Morgan totaled six kills and two blocks.
LeTourneau was up for the challenge early on. The YellowJackets took the opening set, 25-20, by storming back from a 16-11 deficit. LeTourneau used a 9-1 run, highlighted by two kills from Morgan and a pair of assisted blocks, to go ahead 20-17. Monk added two kills over the final points as LeTourneau grabbed a 1-0 match lead.
ETBU tied the match with a set two win, but LeTourneau responded with a 25-23 win in set three. The YellowJackets again trailed late, this time at 20-17, before mounting a rally. Morgan and Taylor had back-to-back kills before an
Alexis Bowen Johnson solo block got the guests to within 21-20. LeTourneau scored the final three points to finish off the comeback, secured with a kill from Smith.
The host Tigers evened the match with a 25-20 win in set four to set the stage for the deciding game.
Mosley added 23 digs to her 26 kills for ETBU (13-3, 5-3 ASC). Avery Reid tallied 14 kills, Lexi Moody had 22 assists, and Lillie Hill had 28 digs in the loss.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT
UP NEXT
LeTourneau continues its road swing on Friday at Hardin-Simmons (6 p.m.).
