FORT SMITH, Ark. — The Newman volleyball team started strong and show a burst at the end, but those two runs of success weren't enough to pull out a win on the second day of the Carr Racop Invitational Friday, as the Jets fell to Henderson State 3-1.
KEY SEQUENCE
The Jets (4-7) saw themselves trailing the Reddies (6-4) 2-1 in the match, and were down 19-13 in the fourth set, but they didn't give in easily. A 7-2 run from that point cut the lead to two, and a kill from Kayla Turner and an ace out of Crystal Powell tied it at 24-all, but after a few more close points, Henderson managed to close out a 17-25, 25-23, 25-12, 29-27 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Newman came out firing on all cylinders, hitting .346 in a comfortable first set win, using a 10-1 run early to jump out to a 12-5 lead. That advantage ballooned to 22-12, and a block from Turner and a Yemima Buana kill got it to match point before Megan Pedersen and Powell ended it with a block.
-Powell helped key a quick 4-0 run in the second, putting together a kill and two blocks around a Yareli Ruelas ace to stake the Jets to a 15-9 lead. The Reddies answered with a 7-1 spurt to tie things at 16-16, and eventually grabbed a three-point lead at 23-20. Emily Harvey netted two kills to help bring things back to even, but HSU picked up the final two points to earn an important set victory.
-An early 5-0 run by the Reddies made it 5-2 and gave Henderson the lead for good in a momentum-changing third set, but it was tight throughout the fourth. HSU went up 11-9, but Harvey answered with back-to-back kills to tie it, after short bursts from the Reddies to get it to 19-13, the Jets responded again with some of their best volleyball of the night, but Henderson buttoned down to hold on for the win.
NOTES
-Turner led Newman for the second straight night, accumulating 14 kills to go with 11 digs.
-Reagen Roth was the setter for much of the match, putting together 23 assists without an error to set a new high in her young career.
-Anna Burton led the way with 25 digs, while Roth, Sarah Peterson, Ruelas and Turner all were in double figures in an active match.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Jets close out their final tournament of the year with matches against Missouri Western and West Florida Saturday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.
