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LeTourneau Volleyball Drops Three-Set Match At Texas-Dallas
RICHARDSON, Texas – Playing their first of four American Southwest Conference matches this week, the LeTourneau University volleyball team saw host Texas-Dallas hand the YellowJackets a 26-24, 25-21, and 25-14 defeat at the UTD Activity Center in Richardson, Texas on Tuesday, September 18.
With the loss, LETU falls to 5-6 overall and 2-1 in the ASC while the Comets improved to 7-4 and 2-0 after receiving votes in this week’s AVCA Division III Top 25 Poll.
“The amount of passion and heart tonight on the court was outstanding,” said head coach Ashley Tiernan in a post-match interview. “I’m excited to see where this team will end up once we start firing on all cylinders.”
How It Happened:
Playing their 12th consecutive match to start the season away from home, the road warrior YellowJackets would not be fazed by a quick start for UT-Dallas as LETU managed to take a 16-11 lead and force a Comet timeout.
The lead would grow to 17-12 before seeing UTD battle their way back to pull within one at 20-19 and again at 21-20 to set things up for a back and forth finish to the set.
A 3-0 run for UT-Dallas put things at 23-22 in favor of the Comets, but a Lexie Welton Kill tied the match once again with each team looking to secure an early lead.
With one final tie at 24-24 sending things to extra points, UT-Dallas would score the final two points of the set to outlast the YellowJackets and hold a 1-0 lead in the match.
It would be LeTourneau jumping out to an early set lead in the second frame, breaking open a 5-5 tie with four straight points to go up 9-5 following an Audrey Galindo service ace.
Not to be outdone, the Comets would manage to score a 4-0 run of their own and tie the match at 10-10.
Another UT-Dallas run with the match tied at 16-16 saw the Comets score six of the next seven points to take a 22-17 lead which would be just enough to take the set as the YellowJackets would be unable to climb out of the deficit.
Making one final push early in the third set, LETU jumped out to score four of the first five points in the third set but again saw the Comets score seven of the next eight points to claim the lead at 8-5.
Trailing 12-8 midway through the set, UTD would put the set out of reach by scoring eight straight points to grab a 20-8 lead, eventually earning a 25-14 win to close out the match.
Key Stats:
Leading the YellowJackets in the match was freshman Kianna Crow with nine kills and 12 digs while junior Mikayla Thomas notched seven kills on 12 attacks for a .500 attack percentage.
Outside of the second set that saw the Comets record just eight kills on a .139 attack percentage, UT-Dallas managed to hit .236 for the match while holding LETU to a .130 attack percentage.
Senior Liz Williams recorded a season-high 13 digs in the match while Cam Taylor had 19 assists and one service ace.
What’s Next?
The first of two American Southwest Conference crossover tournaments take place this weekend in Alpine, Texas as the YellowJackets will play McMurry and Hardin-Simmons on Friday, September 21. LETU will square off with the War Hawks at 1:00 pm and take on the Cowgirls in the nightcap at 7:00 pm.
LeTourneau Men’s Golf Wins Louisiana College Fall Invitational
ALEXANDRIA, La. – Beating out their closest competition by 15 strokes, the LeTourneau University men’s golf team won the 2018 Louisiana College Fall Invitational by shooting a team score of 596 at the Links on the Bayou in Alexandria, Louisiana on Tuesday, September 18.
The YellowJackets would take the wire-to-wire victory after shooting a first-round score of 301 and hold a five-stroke lead heading into final round action on Tuesday, where they would turn in a season-best score of 295. Centenary College would finish second with a 611 team score followed by Belhaven University (625) and the LETU “B” team with a 628.
Earning medalist honors at the meet would be junior Reed Fisher and freshman Wes Nolan with 36-hole scores of one-over 145 on the 6,767 yard, Par-72 course. Nolan managed to shoot a final-round best of one-under 71 to catch Fisher who closed out the tournament with a two-over 74 after holding the lead following an opening-round score of one-under 71.
Also earning a top-five finish for LETU would be Buster Byrnes as part of the YellowJacket “B” team after shooting a 73-77-150 while junior Cory Gillespie, sophomore Keaton Williams, and sophomore Logan Tucker all finished tied for 11th with a two-day total of 154. Freshman Alex Koll moved up 10 spots on the final day to finish in a tie for 17th after shooting a final round 76 (84-76-160) while Michael Gonzales (T27, 164), Ryan Newell (T30, 165), and Sean Cornelius (T32, 166) also competed for LeTourneau.
LETU will look to build off the success from the Louisiana College Fall Invitational when they are next in action on Monday, October 1st at the UMHB Fall Intercollegiate Invitational in Temple, Texas.
Matt Kinney
Sports Information Director
Office: 903-233-3735