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Volleyball 9/23/2008 10:52:52 PM

HOT-HITTING LADY LIONS DOWN CAJUNS IN FOUR

Southeastern hits a season-best .324 in midweek win

Jessica Srajer has hit .325 in her last three matches

Box Score

HAMMOND - The Southeastern Louisiana University women's volleyball team (4-4) hit a season-high .324 (59-14-139) as a team while recording 10 blocks and 51 digs to keep the Louisiana-Lafayette (3-7) offense in check as the Lady Lions rolled to a 3-1 win over the Ragin' Cajuns on Tuesday night by scores of 25-18, 25-23, 24-26 and 25-19. With the win, Southeastern improved to 2-1 at home and has now won four of its last six matches.

Junior right side hitter Jessica Srajer led the way once again, pacing the Southeastern attack with a team-high 14 kills. The Vancouver, Wash. native has posted 10 or more kills in each of her last three matches and is hitting .325 (34-8-80) over that stretch.

Srajer was joined by junior right side hitter Lauren Mayer (12 kills), junior middle blocker Julie Elliott (12 kills) and freshman middle blocker Paige Dollison (10 kills) to give the Lady Lions four players with double-digit kills on Tuesday night.

Freshman setter Arianne Cruckshank paved the way for the offense most of the night, recording a career-high 51 assists, and sophomore libero Alex Greer notched 11 digs to help keep Southeastern out in front.

"This was the performance we were looking for from our offense," head coach Julie Langford said. "We were very efficient, we passed the ball well and we didn't waste many opportunities or make too many unforced errors. We made the most of our chances tonight and it was good to see our hitters get clicking at the same time like we've been working on in practice."

Southeastern took control early on in a 25-18 first set win over the Cajuns. Srajer, Mayer and Dollison each recorded four kills and sophomore outside hitter Kalynn Evans added three kills while hitting .750 in the set (3-0-4) to put the Lady Lions out in front.

ULL tried to battle back in the second, taking a late 20-18 lead. The Lady Lions rallied with a 5-3 run to tie things up at 23-23 before taking the final two points for a 25-23 win.

Looking for their first straight-set win on the season, Southeastern got out to a 5-1 lead early in the third. Unfortunatley, ULL battled back to claim a 26-24 win and force a fourth set.

Determined to end any hopes of a Ragin' Cajun comeback, Southeastern never trailed in the fourth. Dollison and Elliott each hit .600 in the final frame as the Lady Lions cruised to a 25-19 win to improve to 4-4 on the year.

With two wins over Louisiana-Monroe earlier this year, the Lady Lions improved to 3-0 against in-state rivals with Tuesday's win.

They will put that mark on the line when they host Southland Conference rival Nicholls State in the SLC opener for both schools on Friday night.

"Friday's match will be important for us," Langford said. "We feel it's important to get out to a strong start in conference play, it can really help set the tone for the rest of the season. Fortunately, we're playing well right now. There are some things we will continue to address in practice, but so far, I'm happy with the way we have progressed this season."

Gametime for Southeastern and Nicholls State is set for 7 p.m. at the University Center in Hammond. Admission is free for all fans. Live stats will be available on www.LionSports.net.

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