Box Score Box score
HAMMOND – Southeastern's Louisiana's
Jessica Srajer pounded down a season-high 14 kills and freshman
Courtney Donald added seven, but it was not enough as Southland Conference leader Central Arkansas posted a 25-16, 17-25, 25-20, 25-16 victory Friday at the University Center.
Jessica Hays and Amicha Williams recorded 10 kills each while Chloe Smith added nine as UCA (22-3, 11-0 Southland) won its sixth match in a row and improved to 9-0 all-time against Southeastern (6-15, 2-8 Southland).
UCA took control early, using an 8-0 run in the opening set to pull away from a 4-4 deadlock. Hays, who also posted a double-double with 12 digs, collected three kills during the run for the Sugar Bears, who hit .150 in the opening set while Southeastern was a frigid -.094.
Southeastern trailed 14-9 in the second set before roaring back with a 14-1 run and evening the match at one set apiece. Srajer, who had six kills in the set, cut the UCA lead to 14-10 and the Lady Lions took control behind the serve of
Katie Collins.
Collins tied the set at 14-14 with an ace before a kill by
Julie Elliott gave Southeastern its first lead since taking a 2-1 advantage early in the frame. UCA tied the set on a kill by Hays, but the Sugar Bears would hit into a service error and Elliott and
Allison Jones posted kills to give Southeastern an 18-15 lead.
Margaret Pittman continued Southeastern's strong finish as she collected a pair of service aces and Elliott would close out the set with an ace, tying the match at one set each.
UCA took control of the match in the third set behind the play of Williams, who had four kills and hit .333 in the frame. The Sugar Bears snapped a 15-15 tie on a kill by Hays and extended their lead to 20-17 on an attack error by Jones. Southeastern closed the gap to within 21-20 on a kill by Srajer, but the senior followed with an error and UCA took advantage of two more Lady Lion errors before Chloe Smith closed out the set with a kill.
The Sugar Bears, who hit .166 for the match, maintained a cushion in the final set after taking a 5-4 lead on a Srajer error. Southeastern got as close as 16-13 on a kill by Elliott, but Robyn Smith answered for UCA with a kill and the Sugar Bears pulled away from there.
Cristin Curl tallied 26 digs to lead UCA while Robyn Smith led the Sugar Bears with 35 assists.
Southeastern's
Alex Greer led all players with a career-high 28 digs while
Lauren Mayer added 15. Collins added 31 assists and 11 digs for the Lady Lions while Elliott had four blocks and Pittman three service aces.
Southeastern, which opened a season-high five-match homestand, will return to action on Saturday facing in-state rival Northwestern State (2-17, 1-10 Southland) at 7 p.m. Admission to all Southeastern home volleyball matches is free.
Central Arkansas def. Southeastern La. 3-1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-20, 25-16)
Central Arkansas (22-3, 11-0 Southland) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Hays 10-1-1; Williams 10-0-0; C. Smith 9-0-1; Franklin 5-0-3; Hammonds 3-0-1; R. Smith 2-1-0; Curl 1-1-0; Evans 0-1-0; Totals 40-4-5.0. (Assists) – R. Smith 35. (Dig leaders) – Curl 26; Hays 12; C. Smith 9; R. Smith 9; Evans 8.
Southeastern La. (6-15, 2-8 Southland) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Srajer 14-0-2; Donald 7-0-1; Jones 6-0-0; Elliott 5-1-4; Mayer 5-0-1; Buckner 2-0-0; Greer 1-0-0; Braghini 1-0-1; Pittman 0-3-0; Collins 0-2-1; Totals 41-6-5.0. (Assists) – Collins 31. (Dig leaders) – Greer 28; Mayer 15; Collins 11; Pittman 9.
