Box Score Box Score
LAKE CHARLES – In a battle for the final Southland Conference Tournament berth, the Southeastern Louisiana volleyball team battled from two sets down to earn a 24-26, 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 18-16 win at McNeese State in the regular season finale for both teams.
The resourceful Lady Lions (9-18, 5-11 SLC) clinched their first Southland Tournament appearance since 2002 with the win. The Lady Lions will face top-seeded Texas State in the first round of the tournament on Friday at 11 a.m. in San Antonio, Texas.
"The girls pulled together and had a solid performance," Southeastern head coach Julie Langford said. "We got on a good serving run in the third set and that gave us the momentum we needed to come back. We're very excited to continue our season. I'm especially happy for our seniors who have worked so hard and been tremendous leaders for our team."
Senior
Lauren Mayer (15 kills, 18 digs) and freshman
Taylor Buckner (12 kills, 13 digs) each posted double-doubles for the Lady Lions. In all, Southeastern had four players with double-digit kills, as senior
Jessica Srajer and freshman
Courtney Donald posted 12 and 11 kills, respectively, as Southeastern hit .178 for the match.
Southeastern senior setter
Katie Collins finished with 54 assists to lead all players. In addition to the efforts of Mayer and Buckner, junior
Alex Greer posted 20 digs and Southeastern held McNeese State (17-13, 5-11 SLC) to a .131 hitting percentage. Southeastern had 12 total blocks, as Mayer had a solo block and six block assists, while Donald had a team-high seven blocks.
The Cowgirls were led by Priscilla Massengale, who finished with a match-high 22 kills, while teammate Chanel Tyler chipped in 13 winners. Whitney Ellisor led McNeese State with 18 digs, while Sarah Cartie posted a double-double with 38 assists and 14 digs.
After suffering narrow losses in the first two sets, Southeastern answered with a pair of 25-18 wins to send the match into a deciding fifth set. With the set tied at 16, Mayer gave Southeastern the lead for good with her 15th kill of the match. On the next serve, Massengale committed an error, as Mayer and Collins posted a block, allowing Southeastern to secure its first postseason bid in seven years.
All of this week's Southland Conference Tournament matches will be streamed live on www.Southland.org. Sunday's championship match at 2 p.m. will be televised live on the Southland Television Network (Charter Channel 22 in the Hammond area).
