LONGVIEW, Texas -- Volleyball was victorious over Hardin-Simmons' squad in five sets on Saturday afternoon (10-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-14, 15-13).

On Senior Day in Longview, five seniors and two graduate students were honored before the match. Seniors Hannah Payan, Ty Shannon, Yari Ortiz, Reina Lawson, and Kaci Monk, along with graduate students Morgan Nix and Allison Smith, have all had noteworthy careers in LeTourneau volleyball and each has an important story in LeTourneau athletic lore.

For the seniors, Payan was awarded with two Academic All-Conference awards (2022 and 2023), and was All-Conference second team in 2022. Shannon, another two-time Academic All-Conference honoree, was a key defensive specialist in important stretches of matches throughout her tenure. Ortiz won All-Conference first team in 2023, with her thunderous attacks proving difficult for opponents to stop. Lawson was an All-Conference second team winner in 2023, and holds the program record for service aces, with 175. Finally, Monk was a two-time All-Conference second team honoree and Academic All-Conference in 2022 and 2023.

Nix and Smith have also made massive contributions in their years at LeTourneau. Nix, the two-time ASC Libero of the Year and two-time LeTourneau Female Athlete of the Year, holds the program record for most digs in a career, with 2,041. Smith, a perennial ASC All-Academic honoree, also was awarded All-Conference First Team in 2023 and LeTourneau Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2023-24.

All these seniors and graduate students mean a lot to this program, and they have great things ahead of them as they pursue their careers.

For the match, Monk notched 14 kills to pace all players, Lawson collected 27 assists, Nix tallied 18 digs, Nora Lockhart blocked eight attacks, and Shannon had five service aces. Kaylyn Taylor also had a season-high nine kills, continuing to prove herself as a spark plug for the YellowJacket offense.



After a 25-10 set one loss, the YellowJackets answered with a 25-12 set two victory behind a 5-1 late run, thanks to kills from Allison and Emma Smith and Taylor in that period.

A close 25-22 loss in set three meant LeTourneau would need to rebound and respond. 

Respond, they did.

The YellowJackets blitzed the Cowgirls with an 8-1 run early and a 7-1 run mid-set to cruise to a 25-14 victory and force a deciding fifth set. Monk stamped three kills to the floor in the first run and Lawson confused the Cowgirls with four serves in the second run, leading to three aces and a kill from Ortiz on a Lawson assist. 

LeTourneau now found themselves in a similar situation to their match against Howard Payne the day before. A deciding fifth set. Momentum on their side. All they had to do was close the deal.

It would not be easy. The YellowJackets took an 8-4 lead as the teams swapped sides, but Hardin-Simmons was later able to tie the set at nine. Then, a quick 3-0 run gave LeTourneau a 13-10 edge, the same score as the day before. 

This time, they would not be denied.

The Cowgirls did all they could, bouncing back from a Monk kill that made it 14-11 to take back-to-back points and put themselves on the brink of tying it up again. On a thrilling, arduous, final rally, both teams had some amazing digs to keep the point alive. The tension was palpable, the fans hanging on every play.

Then, a harmless free ball went to the YellowJackets side of the court, and Maddy Hirneise got to it and sent the ball towards the net, where Lockhart was waiting. Lockhart leaped, attacked, and demolished the volleyball to the floor, sending the fans and players into a frenzy that will be remembered fondly for many years to come. 

For the Cowgirls, Liz Underwood had 10 kills and 13 digs, Ali Meyer had 21 assists, and Keatyn Rogers had 5 aces.

UP NEXT

LeTourneau takes a long weekend off before facing Centenary on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Longview at Solheim Arena.

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