BELTON, TEXAS - The Luther volleyball team opened their trip to Texas 0-2. They fell in their opening match against LeTourneau 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 19-25, 11-25) and 3-1 loss to the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor (UMHB) (19-25, 11-25, 25-23, 18-25) on Saturday. Luther is 6-16 and 1-4 in American Rivers Conference. Zoe Verhey was consistent out of the middle for the Norse recording 25 kills between the two matches while hitting .250. 

MATCH #1: Luther 1, LeTourneau 3 
LeTourneau took the first set 25-19. During the second set there were 12 score ties and six lead changes. Tied up at 18 all the Norse went on a 7-1 run to claim victory 25-19. Haley Gossman and Verhey recorded the final two points in the set with kills. Luther limited LeTourneau to .031 hitting percentage while hitting .276. The match was knotted up one set apiece. 

Then in the third set, the YellowJackets were leading 14-6 before the Norse regained their momentum midway through the set. LeTourneau did not look back as they closed the door on a Luther comeback. The YellowJackets were up 2-1 in the contest after winning the set 25-19. 

The Norse took the first point of the fourth set with a kill from Sarina Stortz but the YellowJackets answered back quickly. The LeTourneau offense was unstoppable as the defense did the best they could. The final score was 25-11 with the YellowJackets winning the match 3-1. 

Stat leaders included both middle hitters Stortz and Zoe Verhey with 14 and 10 kills respectively. Verhey and Julianne Lundvall had five blocks assists each which led the Norse to out block the YellowJackets 9 to 5.  Emma Kowlaczyk recorded a  double-double with 34 assists and 10 digs. 

It was the first ever meeting between the two teams. 

MATCH #2: Luther 1, University of Mary-Hardin Baylor 3
The Crusaders won the opening two sets 25-19 and 25-11 and were looking to sweep the Norse. Luther came alive in the third set keeping pace with UMHB before taking a 23-20 lead. The Norse closed the set with back-to-back kills from Verhey assisted by Kowalczyk for a 25-23 win. It was just the ninth set the Crusaders have dropped all season. 

Then in fourth set Luther rallied back within five points at 14-19. However, the Crusaders were in control and closed out the set 25-18 to take the match 3-1. 

Verhey led the hitters with 15 kills and a hitting percentage of .480 in the contest. While Kyah Olson-Sola tallied 16 digs. 

QUOTE FROM COACH
"We had a slow start to the day getting our feet under us here in Texas. However, when we finally settled in, we showed off Luther volleyball. We challenged a very strong UMHB team who is 21-1 to a competitive four set match. This team can be so strong when we play together and for one another. Looking forward to seeing that strength for an entire match tomorrow in Austin." 

UP NEXT
Luther will play one more match in Texas traveling to Austin. They will face Concordia University Texas at 12 p.m. on Sunday, October 15.