Box Score
NATCHITOCHES, La. – Despite a stellar offensive performance by senior
Courtney Donald, the Southeastern Louisiana volleyball team fell in a four-set Southland Conference match Thursday at Northwestern State, 18-25, 23-25, 26-24, 19-25.
Donald record 15 kills (.412 attack percentage) and four blocks for the Lady Lions.
Shelby Devlin (.261) and
Tamra Grayson (.208) each contributed nine kills.
Southeastern (6-12, 1-7 Southland) struggled offensively in the first set, hitting -.118 as a team. For the match, the Lady Lions (.168) were held below their season average which was ranked second in the conference entering the night.
Devlin and
Veronica Turk each recorded a pair of kills in the first set. Donald posted the only other first-set kill for the Lady Lions.
In the second set, Southeastern (.270) regained form and outhit the Lady Demons (.235). A late service error by Northwestern State's Glynna Johnson allowed the Lady Lions to tie the set, 18-18, but consecutive kills by Caiti O'Connell put the Lady Demons back up for good.
Southeastern's strong hitting helped it knock off Northwestern State in a tight third set that contained a tie score 15 different times. Donald, Grayson and Turk all contributed four kills in the set.
The Lady Lions struggled out of the gate during the fourth set, falling behind 6-1. After a timeout, Southeastern came back to tie the score, 10-10, but a
Becky Bekelja service error put the ball back in the hands of the Lady Demons. Down five, the Lady Lions made run to shave four points off the lead, 16-15, but Northwestern State (13-8, 5-4 Southland) sprinted to the finish line on a 9-4 run.
Four different Lady Demons posted double digit kills, including Stacey DiFrancesco (17), O'Connell (16), Johnson (12) and Mackenzie Neely (11). Keelie Arneson (35), Kelly Jimenez (14) and DiFrancesco (10) all contributed double-digit digs for Northwestern State.
Megan McMillin's 21 digs led the Lady Lions and Bekelja recorded a double-double (38 assists, 12 digs).
Southeastern wraps up a two-match road trip with a 1 p.m. match Saturday at Stephen F. Austin.
Northwestern St. def. Southeastern La. 25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 25-19
Southeastern La. (6-12, 1-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Donald, Courtney 15-0-4; Devlin, Shelby 9-0-3; Grayson, Tamra 9-0-0; Turk, Veronica 7-0-3; Shippy, Mikayla 3-0-3; Rauch, Jessica 1-0-0; Bekelja, Becky 1-1-0; Buckner, Taylor 0-1-0; McMillin, Megan 0-1-0;
Totals 45-3-7.0. (Assists) - Bekelja, Becky 38.
(Dig leaders) - McMillin, Megan 21; Bekelja, Becky 12; Krohn, Cherish 8
Northwestern St. (13-8, 5-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - DiFrancesco, Stacey 17-1-2; O'Connell, Caiti 16-0-0; Johnson, Glynna 12-1-3; Neely, Mackenzie 11-1-1; Coleman, Vanessa 2-0-1; Sweet, Emily 0-2-0; Jimenez, Kelly 0-1-0; Arneson, Keelie 0-2-0;
Totals 58-8-4.0. (Assists) – Sweet, Emily 48.
(Dig leaders) - Arneson, Keelie 35; Jimenez, Kelly 14; DiFrancesco, Stacey 10
