MARSHALL, Texas -- LeTourneau volleyball's season came to an end on Friday evening as they fell to ASC No. 1 seed and No. 9 in the nation East Texas Baptist, 3-1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-14) at the Ornelas Gymnasium.

LeTourneau's season concludes with a final record of 15-17 (4-5 ASC), while the Tigers improve to 27-1 (8-0 ASC).

Kaylyn Taylor (11) and Dylan Presley (10) led the kill department, while Reina Lawson and Grace Talkington collected 17 assists each. Morgan Nix had two service aces to pace that offensive category.

On defense, Nix dug out 26 attacks and Taylor blocked five attacks. 

2024 was a year of many ups and downs for the YellowJackets, but nonetheless, one that will be remembered for its historical accomplishments and signature wins.

Two program records were set in 2024. Nix, the Duchess of Digs, broke the program record for career digs in a match against Moravian on September 6. Later that day, Lawson etched her name in the record books, as she set the program record for service aces in their second match of the day against Rhodes. Nix's final career dig total winds up at 2,208, while Lawson's final ace total ends at 190, two incredible accomplishments in LeTourneau volleyball lore.

In terms of signature wins, the YellowJackets can point to two in particular. On September 28, LeTourneau defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor for the first time in 14 seasons, 3-1, in Solheim Arena. The other, also in Solheim, came on October 26, as the YellowJackets upended Hardin-Simmons in five sets, taking the final two sets of that match after being down two sets to one.

The senior class of Ty Shannon, Kaci Monk, and Lawson, plus the two graduate students, Nix and Allison Smith, all have played important roles in their years at LeTourneau.

Shannon's prowess as a defensive specialist in big moments throughout 2024 gave the YellowJackets life when they needed it most. Monk finishes her career with 974 kills (fourth all-time in program history). Lawson, on top of her program record in aces, finishes third in program history with 2,282 assists. 

Nix, along with her digs record, has won a bevy of awards in her time, from Libero of the Year to All-Conference first team to LeTourneau Female Athlete of the Year. Smith, like many of her fellow graduating teammates, ends her career high atop the program leaderboards. She ranks first in program history in total (447) and assisted blocks (368), and fourth in solo blocks (79), marking a stellar career.

These exemplary women have left everything on the floor, and they can hold their heads high as they move on from here into the next stage of their lives.

The match against the Tigers today saw the YellowJackets take an early 1-0 set advantage behind a set-ending 10-2 run, getting two kills from Presley and a service ace from Nix that concluded the set.

While the YellowJackets fought hard the rest of the way, ETBU gained control, taking the next three sets to move on to the ASC Championship match against Mary Hardin-Baylor.

For the Tigers, Graycee Mosley notched 16 kills, McKenzie Mansell had 29 assists and four aces, and Callie Humphrey tallied 23 digs.

The semifinal appearance was the first for LeTourneau since 2021.

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