Wildcats Earn First Win of Season in Split with LeTourneau

PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana College volleyball got into the win column for the first time in the spring 2021 season, picking up a five-set win over the Yellow Jackets to open Senior Day; 28-26, 21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 15-10, before falling in the nightcap in straight sets; 25-14, 25-10, 25-17, Saturday afternoon at H.O. West Fieldhouse.

Match 1 – LeTourneau 2 (26, 25, 23, 25, 10), Louisiana College 3 (28, 21, 25, 16, 15) 

Sadi Jones got match one started quickly, collecting back-to-back kills to get the Wildcats out to a 2-0 lead. However, the Wildcats would find themselves down 9-5 before rallying for five of the next six points as Jaslyn Bright, Aniah Adams, and Sadi Jones all registered kills during the run while Paris Babino added in a service ace to tie the set at 10-10. LeTourneau would open a lead again, getting out to a 19-15 advantage before LC responded with six-straight points that included two straight aces by I’Nyah Kately and back-to-back kills by Adams, which gave LC the lead. With the match tied 26-26 in extra rallies, a service error by the Yellow Jackets put the Wildcats ahead, and then Jaslyn Bright ended the first set in LC’s favor with a kill for the 28-26 win.

In the second set, LeTourneau quickly jumped out to an 8-3 lead, though LC would pull that deficit back down to within two points several times during the set. A kill by Jaslyn Bright pushed the deficit down to 16-14. But the Wildcats tried a big late rally, as Aniah Adams gave LC the serve. Bright followed with another kill and then a pair of LETU attack errors turned a 23-17 set into a 23-21 set. But the Yellow Jackets got the next two points to close out the set and tie the match at 1-1.

The third set was another good start for LC as Abby Revell, Aniah Adams, and Jaslyn Bright all collected kills while Sadi Jones added a service ace that helped the Wildcats jump out to a 6-2 lead. LC got the lead up to as much as six points as a kill by Sadi Jones made it 13-7 Wildcats. But LeTourneau came back with a run of six-out-of-seven points to get back in the match, then another run of six straight to take a 20-17 lead. But LC would not be denied getting back ahead in the match as Sadi Jones came up with a kill to send LC on a set-ending 8-3 run that was ended by a Paris Babino kill to end set three 25-23 and put the Wildcats up 2-1 in the match.

LeTourneau took seven of the first nine points in the fourth set to open up an early advantage. Trailing 11-4, Aniah Adams and Jaslyn Bright recorded back-to-back kills before Sadi Jones came up with two straight aces for get LC back within 11-8. The run continued until a kill by Jaslyn Bright got the Wildcats to within two points at 12-10. But LeTourneau scored six of the next seven to open the score again and LC was unable to pull it back as the Yellow Jackets tied the match again at 2-2 with the 25-16 set win.

Therefore, it all came down to the fifth set where LC found themselves behind 3-1 early and 5-3 before a service error gave LC the serve. Abby Revell then came up with back-to-back kills to give LC the lead. After LETU tied the match at 7-7, Revell put the Wildcats ahead again with another kill to start a run of three LC points that put the Wildcats up 10-7. Leading 11-9 and trying to close the match, Sadi Jones forced a kill through the Yellow Jacket block to get a point and the serve. Aniah Adams and Jaslyn Bright followed that with kills of their own to put LC on their first match point of the season. After a service error gave LETU the serve back, Sadi Jones gave the Wildcats their first match win with a kill for the 15-10 set win and 3-2 match victory.

Aniah Adams led the Wildcats with 24 kills in the match to go with eight digs. Abby Revell and Jaslyn Bright each had 14 kills with Bright adding 14 digs and an ace. Paris Babino recorded 51 assists and 14 digs. Sadi Jones tallied 12 kills, 17 digs, and four aces. I’Nyah Kately also had four aces and 22 digs in the win.

Match 2 – LeTourneau 3 (25, 25, 25), Louisiana College 0 (14, 10, 17) 

Match two started fast for LeTourneau, jumping out to a 4-1 lead before two straight LC points, including an ace by Sadi Jones cut that lead to 4-3. But the Yellow Jackets scored five of the next seven to open a 9-4 lead. LC kept pace for a bit with a kill by Jones making the score 14-9 LETU. But a run of five straight points by LeTourneau made it a ten-point lead. Daja’ Bell and Abby Revell had kills during a run of three-straight points by LC that made it 19-12, but the Yellow Jackets scored six of the next eight to close out the 25-14 set.

Set two started better for LC, with Paris Babino opening the scoring with a service ace. LC jumped out to a 4-2 lead on a kill by Abby Revell. But LeTourneau blew the second set open with a 16-3 run that put the Yellow Jackets up 18-7 until Aniah Adams got a kill that ended the run. A kill by Paris Babino ended a run of four-straight LETU points, but the Yellow Jackets soon closed out the set 25-10.

Sadi Jones opened the third set with a kill to give LC the early lead, and then Jaslyn Bright gave LC the lead back with a kill that made the score 3-2 in set three. LeTourneau scored eight of the next nine to take a 10-4 lead. Down 12-5, LC scored four of the next five to get back to within 13-9 on a kill by Sadi Jones. However, LeTourneau scored the next six to open a 19-9 advantage. The Wildcats continued to battle against the adversity however, as a Royanee Narcisse kill started a run of five straight points that included two aces by Leah Stamps and a kill by Aniah Adams, though that would prove to be LC’s final point as LeTourneau scored two straight to end the match 25-17 and 3-0.

Sadi Jones led the Wildcats in the second match with six kills and seven digs. Aniah Adams and Abby Revell each had four kills. Jaslyn Bright added three kills and ten digs. Paris Babino accounted for eight assists while Leah Stamps collected a pair of service aces in the second match.

The Wildcats (1-7, 1-7 ASC) look to improve on today’s result on Tuesday when Belhaven comes to town for a pair of matches. Opening serve for the first match against the Blazers (1-7, 1-7 ASC) is set for 3:00 P.M. at H.O. West Fieldhouse.