ABILENE, Texas – With retribution on its mind, McMurry University Volleyball snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 statement win over LeTourneau in American Southwest Conference action on Wednesday inside Kimbrell Arena.

Following two forfeits in late September due to COVID-19 protocols, McMurry (5-9, 3-8 ASC) lost its next four games. The skid started on Oct. 1 with a lopsided three-set loss to the YellowJackets (13-6, 8-4 ASC) in Longview.

Twelve days after that loss, McMurry flipped the script.

LeTourneau took a close first set, but McMurry powered ahead to win three in a row – including a dominant 25-10 win in the third set to pull ahead. This win positions McMurry well in the hunt for postseason contention, as the War Hawks sit in eighth place with seven games to go. The top six teams make the tournament based on conference win percentage.   

McMurry 3, LeTourneau 1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-21)

Summary: McMurry fell one kill short of its season high with 54, led by usual suspect Kaylie Vasil with 15 kills. A key turning point for the War Hawks was the service game, as they totaled 10 aces and surrendered just one service ace to LeTourneau – a season-low. Freshman Allissa Rodriguez stepped up with a team-high four blocks, while Adile Leal had a new season-high with 26 digs and Madison Cuellar added 22. Senior Myranda Salcedo had her second-highest assist total to led the setters, finishing with 24. Freshman Abilene product Bri Garcia had 10 kills and three blocks in the win.

Set 1: McMurry struggled out of the gate with eight kills and 10 errors, allowing LeTourneau to inch ahead to a 1-0 lead. Down 13-11, the YellowJackets scored eight of the next nine points with the exception of a service error – taking the lead for good. Vasil and Haygen Fleming combined for five of McMurry's kills in the frame.

Set 2: Determined to tie things up, McMurry fired back with 15 kills in the second frame. But things did not start well, as LeTourneau flew ahead 10-3. Just when it looked like the YellowJackets were cruising, McMurry began a 5-0 run to force an eventual timeout. In the run, Megan Martinez had a forceful kill and Vasil had back-to-back aces. Later tied at 16 apiece, McMurry turned on the heat and went ahead for good. Vasil had a remarkable seven kills in the set, including the final two to seal the set win.

Set 3: Errors – or the lack thereof – were the key for McMurry in set three. While LeTourneau missed the court 10 times, McMurry did not miss at all. A dominant .393 attack percentage on 11 kills swung the match in favor of the War Hawks, starting with back-to-back kills by Bri Garcia. Both of Garcia's kills were on bad receptions that floated over the net right into Garcia's swinging arm. McMurry also had four service aces – two by Madison Cuellar, one by Ashlyn Quillan and one by Vasil – in the dominant set win. LeTourneau had nine of its 10 points from kills and one on a service error.

Set 4: The War Hawks had 20 kills and just five errors in the final set to get the crowd of 100+ on its feet. LeTourneau battled to stay alive though, totaling 10 kills and just one error. McMurry had just a little more juice, jumping to a 5-1 lead with five kills. LeTourneau trailed most of the way, but went on a late 4-0 run to make things interesting with an 18-17 lead. From there, McMurry had its best run of the match with six straight points – including three kills and two service aces. LeTourneau trimmed their deficit to 23-21 with a pair of kills later on, but McMurry finished things off with a Garcia kill and an attack error across the net.

UP NEXT 

The War Hawks have two important home games ahead of them this weekend, starting on Friday, Oct. 15 against Sul Ross State at 6 p.m. McMurry then hosts Howard Payne on Saturday, Oct. 16 at 12 p.m. for Senior Day and Homecoming.

Sul Ross State sits in fourth place in the ASC standings with a 7-4 conference record, while Howard Payne trails McMurry with a 1-9 conference record.