Box Score



LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana volleyball team knocked off McNeese State Tuesday in five, hotly-contested sets for its second-straight Southland Conference win.

Southeastern (8-12, 3-7 Southland) defeated McNeese State (6-17, 1-9 Southland), 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 29-31, 15-5.

Courtney Donald led all hitters with 20 kills and seven total blocks. Veronica Turk added 11 kills for the Lady Lions. Senior-transfer Becky Bekelja, playing against her former team, recorded her third-straight double-double and dished out 50-plus assists (51) for the second-consecutive contest. Megan McMillin (16), Bekelja (15) and Taylor Buckner all posted double-digit digs for Southeastern.

The first set contained 13 ties and five lead changes as the Lady Lions hit .316 as a team. Seven of Bekelja's digs came in the set as Southeastern held the Cowgirls to a .149 attack percentage.

McNeese State changed the momentum in the second set, jumping up 19-13, before the Lady Lions clawed back to make it a two-point defecit at 24-22. After a Cowgirl timeout,  Southeastern committed an attack error to end the set.

Shelby Devlin led the Lady Lions in the second set, recording five of her nine kills. The freshman from Las Vegas, Nev., also posted three total blocks.

A tight third set win by Southeastern yielded to a marathon fourth set that contained 21 ties and nine lead changes. McNeese was unable, however, to capitalize on the win.

Southeastern dominated the fifth set from the beginning. Lindsey Young served up a pair of aces and pushed the Lady Lions to a 5-0 lead. Aces from Brooke Balser and Bekelja helped finish off the Cowgirls.

The Lady Lions return home to play six of their final nine matches, beginning Thursday with a conference contest against Oral Roberts.

Southeastern La. def. McNeese State 25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 29-31, 15-5
Southeastern La. (8-12, 3-7 SLC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Donald, Courtney 20-0-7; Turk, Veronica 11-0-6; Devlin, Shelby 9-0-7; Grayson, Tamra 8-0-3; Bekelja, Becky 5-1-2; Shippy, Mikayla 5-0-3; Rauch, Jessica 2-0-0; McMillin, Megan 1-0-0; Balser, Brooke 0-1-0; Garrity, Katie 0-1-0; Young, Lindsey 0-3-0; Totals 61-6-15.0. (Assists) – Bekelja, Becky 51. (Dig leaders) - McMillin, Megan 16; Bekelja, Becky 15; Buckner, Taylor 11; Krohn, Cherish 9

McNeese State (6-17, 1-9 SLC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Fryer, Amber 15-0-8; Carlton, Megan 14-0-2; Sanchez, Malina 13-0-3; Graham, Kelly 9-0-2; Bauer, Courtni 8-1-1; DeMarque, Carly 2-0-0; Cagnina, Rachel 2-1-2; Ellisor, Whitney 0-3-0; Totals 63-5-10.0. (Assists) – Graham, Kelly 53. (Dig leaders) - Ellisor, Whitney 28; Graham, Kelly 17; Sanchez, Malina 17; Patterson, Kimberlyn 15; Allen, Jessica 11