BROWNWOOD, Texas -- It took five sets, but the LeTourneau volleyball team came up with a road conference victory on Friday night as the visiting YellowJackets held off Howard Payne for a 3-2 victory (25-19, 26-28, 25-20, 19-25, 15-12).
The win is the first on the road for LeTourneau (2-7, 2-2 ASC) this season.
It was a career night for a pair of YellowJackets as
Yari Ortiz posted 18 kills and
Reina Lawson tallied 49 assists, both career-highs for the tandem. Ortiz added four digs and Lawson tallied eight digs in the win.
Morgan Nix had 35 digs, while
Kaci Monk recorded 13 kills with a .353 hitting percentage.Â
Hannah Payan chipped in eight kills with
Faith Keating adding six kills and nine digs.Â
LeTourneau had its way in the opening set as the YellowJackets hit .333 with 15 kills but need a 9-2 run to grab a 17-16 lead after a
Nora Lockhart kill. LeTourneau finished the set on a 7-1 run culminating in an ace from Nix to grab the first set, 25-19.
LeTourneau had two set-point chances in the second set, but came up empty both times as Howard Payne (6-4, 1-2 ASC) rallied for the 28-26 victory.
In the third, LeTourneau grabbed an early lead at 5-2 after a Lawson kill and then scored six straight late in the set to gain the lead for good in a 25-20 win. The YellowJackets had 15 kills in the frame.
Howard Payne forced the deciding set with a 25-19 victory in the fourth. The host Yellow Jackets took a 3-1 lead in the fifth, but LeTourneau responded and took an 8-6 lead after an
Allison Smith ace. A kill from Monk followed by a Howard Payne error gave LeTourneau an 11-9 edge and the guests would not trail again.
LeTourneau tallied 65 kills in the match and had a 5-3 advantage in blocks. Lockhart finished with three blocks and Monk added two.
Howard Payne got 17 kills and 22 digs from Makenzie Weddel in the loss.
UP NEXT
LeTourneau takes on Sul Ross State on Saturday in Alpine (2 p.m.). The match does not count toward league standings.
FOLLOW THE YELLOWJACKETS
Be sure to follow LeTourneau athletics all season long on letuathletics.com and on social media at Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news, and other information.
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