HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana volleyball team will open Southland Conference play on Friday, facing Nicholls at 7 p.m. in Thibodaux.
The Lady Lions (4-7) head into Southland play with confidence, after a 2-1 performance at last weekend's Louisiana Tech Invitational. Southeastern picked up victories over Grambling and Louisiana Tech on day one of the tournament, before falling to UT-Chattanooga in the final match. Sophomore
Arianne Cruckshank averaged 9.33 assists per set in tournament play, while junior
Alex Greer finished the weekend with a 4.17 dig per set average, as both were named to the All-Tournament team.
Offensively, senior
Lauren Mayer paces the squad with 2.15 kills per set. A pair of freshmen –
Alexis Braghini and
Kaprice Glover – are right behind Mayer with 2.00 kills per set. Braghini is also tops among the Lady Lions' primary attackers with a .241 hitting percentage.
Cruckshank has been the primary setter for the Lady Lions as of late, averaging 7.00 assists per set and sharing time with senior
Katie Collins (4.14 assists per set). Greer and senior
Margaret Pittman are tops on the team with 15 and 10 service aces, respectively. Greer sports the conference's third-best service ace per set average at 0.42.
Greer ranks seventh in the Southland and paces the defense with 3.47 digs per set, followed closely by Mayer (2.26 dps) and Cruckshank (2.22 dps). Braghini leads the team with 14 blocks, followed by seniors
Julie Elliott (13 blocks) and
Jessica Srajer (11 blocks).
Nicholls (5-8) has won its last two matches, defeating Prairie View and Arkansas-Pine Bluff last weekend. The Colonels are led offensively by Jennifer Bryant (2.76 kills per set) and Rachel Yezak (2.17). Amy Whitehead is the team's setter, leading the team with 7.61 assists per set.
Danielle Daigle leads Nicholls defensively with 4.62 digs per set. Amy Beshir comes into Friday's Southland opener with a team-high 28 blocks and leads the conference with a .339 hitting percentage.
Southeastern will be looking for its first win over Nicholls since 2007. Last season, the Colonels swept a pair from the Lady Lions.
Following Friday's match, Southeastern will continue Southland play on Thursday, Oct. 1 in a 7 p.m. match at Northwestern State.
