Box Score
CONWAY, Ark. – The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team dropped its first-round match to Central Arkansas Friday, 3-1, and was eliminated from the 2012 Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament.
Southeastern (11-19) took the second set to force a split heading into halftime, but UCA (28-4) rallied late in the third set and rolled through the fourth for the victory.
“We didn't lay down coming in here to face a tough opponent at their place,” head coach Geno Frugoli said. “It shows the character of our girls to fight hard all year; that's how we accomplished what we did this year.”
The Lady Lions limited UCA to a .143 attack percentage in the second set on the way to a 25-22 win. Southeastern had eight total blocks through three and nine for the match.
“I told our team we would have to block if we're going to be in this match,” Frugoli said. “We blocked five balls in the second set and that was the catalyst. The girls fought hard. It's one of those matches where we can't be ashamed.”
Frugoli altered the lineup in the middle of the match to combat the Sugar Bears tough serving. Shelbeee Berringer, Marissa Collins and Jessica Nagy each had multiple service aces.
“We put
Brooke Balser in because of their tough serving,” Frugoli said. “We have to be able to pass the ball to run the stuff we want with
Veronica Turk and
Shelby Devlin. Shelby did a good job trying to hold down their big hitters on the right side. We're one person short and that's why Central Arkansas is the top seed.”
Jessica Hays led all players with 24 kills while Nagy and Taylor Hammonds joined her in double-digits for UCA with 10 kills apiece. Collins had 54 assists and Berringer led all players with 22 digs.
Senior
Courtney Donald, a first-team All-Southland selection, led Southeastern with 12 kills and six total blocks, including one solo.
Becky Bekelja dished out 24 assists while
Taylor Buckner and
Katie Garrity led the Lady Lions with seven digs each. Devlin added five total blocks, including one solo.
This season Southeastern more than doubled its overall win total, qualified for the conference tournament for the first time since 2009 and had its first player in a decade named first-team All-Conference.
“We know we have a long way to go and we have some recruits coming in that I believe will make a difference,” Frugoli said. “We'll get everyone better and believe the talent will equalize a bit in the league next year.”
Central Arkansas def. Southeastern La. 25-15, 22-25, 25-22, 25-13
Southeastern La. (11-19) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Donald, Courtney 12-0-6; Devlin, Shelby 6-0-5; Bekelja, Becky 5-1-1; Turk, Veronica 4-0-2; Rauch, Jessica 3-0-1; Krohn, Cherish 1-1-0; Ramee, Elizabeth 1-0-0; Grayson, Tamra 1-0-1; Balser, Brooke 1-2-0;
Totals 34-4-9.0. (Assists) - Bekelja, Becky 24.
(Dig leaders) - Garrity, Katie 7; Buckner, Taylor 7
Central Arkansas (28-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Hays, Jessica 24-1-0; Nagy, Jessica 10-2-1; Hammonds, Taylor 10-0-3; Brooks, Scout 8-0-0; Dittrich, Alicia 7-0-0; Schnars, Heather 5-1-0; Hunt, Corri 0-1-0; Collins, Marissa 0-2-1; Berringer, Shelbee 0-3-0;
Totals 64-10-3.0. (Assists) - Collins, Marissa 56.
(Dig leaders) - Berringer, Shelbee 22; Hays, Jessica 9
