Southeastern vs. McNeese State Box Score (.html format)

HAMMOND - Senior middle blocker LaToya Anthony posted eight kills and eight total blocks to lead the way for the Lady Lions on Saturday as the Southeastern Louisiana University women's volleyball team (11-17, 4-12 Southland Conference) overpowered the McNeese State Cowgirls (11-17, 7-9 SLC) to a 3-1 win via scores of 25-22, 25-22, 21-25 and 25-21.

"It's always good to end the season with a win," head coach Julie Langford said.  "Obviously, we're disappointed that we couldn't make it to the conference tournament, but to have beaten teams like Sam Houston, Northwestern State and McNeese this season is a big confidence boost for us and should help us going forward."

In a match that saw 28 ties and 11 lead changes over four sets, the Lady Lions came out on top thanks to a .277 team hitting percentage (59-19-148) and 38 Cowgirl errors.

Southeastern got off to a quick start in the opening set, taking a 14-8 lead early on.  Junior right side hitter Jessica Srajer led the offensive effort with six kills.  Meanwhile, Anthony led a stiff Lady Lion defense with a pair of blocks in the first frame.  The Cowgirls put together a late rally to close to within one at 23-22, but consecutive kills from junior right side hitter Lauren Mayer and junior middle blocker Julie Elliott gave Southeastern the 25-22 opening set win.

In a back-and-forth second set, the Lady Lions came out on top once again.  Anthony recorded another block and Mayer added five kills as Southeastern closed with a 4-2 run to claim a 25-22 win and a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The Cowgirls rallied in the third, forcing a fourth set by thanks in part to their best offensive output of the afternoon.  Srajer posted four kills, and Mayer and sophomore outside hitter Kalynn Evans added three.  Anthony posted another block and added a kill, but it wasn't enough to overcome a .269 (11-4-26) Cowgirl hitting percentage as McNeese held on for a 25-21 win.

Southeastern came out in the fourth, looking to quash any hope of a Cowgirl comeback.  Srajer led the offense once again with four more kills to total a career-high 16 on the afternoon, but Anthony took over in the final set of her college career.

The Longview, Texas native posted four total blocks (three solo, one assist) to keep the Cowgirl offense in check and added three kills of her own as Southeastern finished off McNeese with a 25-21 fourth set win.

"Our hitting performance today was one of the best we've seen in conference this year," Langford said.  "Our passing was consistent and our girls did a great job anticipating on defense.  They really wanted this win today."

With the win, the Lady Lions sent their three member senior class out with a win, posted their highest single-season overall win total and SLC win total since a 15-16 (7-13 SLC) mark in 2003.