MARSHALL, Texas -- The Howard Payne University volleyball team fell to LeTourneau University 3-1 (18-25, 25-20, 18-25, 21-25) Friday at Ornelas Gymnasium in the first round of the 2024 ASC Championship Tournament.
The Lady Jackets were led by a double-double from Tara Bennett, who registered 16 kills and 10 digs on the day. Makenzie Weddel also added seven kills to help the attack.Weddel also pitched in with six in the contest. On the defensive end, Kassidy Johnson chipped in for with 24 digs to go with four blocks from Brylee Awbrey.
Game Notes
» Howard Payne had four players in double figures in digs.
» Makenzie Weddel had a match-high six aces in the loss.
» Tara Bennett registered a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs
» Howard Payne served up seven aces on the way to a second-set victory.
» Tara Bennett had a team-high 16 kills for Howard Payne.
» Howard Payne got a team-high 24 digs from Kassidy Johnson.
» Howard Payne attackers were helped by a team-high 20 assists from Jolee Van Dyke.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Yellow Jackets fell behind early, losing a tough first set 25-18. Howard Payne trailed by as many as nine points as LeTourneau never gave up the lead in a set that was tied up zero times before the Yellow Jackets took control.
SET 2 | Howard Payne rallied after dropping the first set to take the second set 25-20, evening the match at one set apiece. Impressive serving helped the Yellow Jackets earn the set-two victory. Howard Payne notched seven aces in the set win. HPU rallied from down five at 10-5 to claim the win. Howard Payne's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking five LeTourneau attacks in the stanza.
SET 3 | LeTourneau took a 2-1 match lead after defeating the Yellow Jackets in the third set. The Lady Jackets lost a tough set 25-18. Howard Payne trailed by as many as eight points as LeTourneau grabbed the advantage for good at 17-16 in a set that was tied up three times before LeTourneau took over in the second half of the stanza.
SET 4 | Howard Payne then lost the fourth set 25-21 to finish off the match. The Lady Jackets lost the first point and never took the lead before losing the set.
The loss dropped Howard Payne's record to 13-13 overall and 1-8 in ASC action. The ASC volleyball all-conference teams and awards will be announced by the league office Monday morning.
