Box Score 1 | Box Score 2



MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Southeastern Louisiana split a pair of matches Friday at the ISTAP Collegiate Cup hosted by Alabama State.

The Lady Lions (1-1) defeated Alabama State (0-1) in the season opener for both squads, before dropping a three-set decision to Jacksonville State (2-0) later in the afternoon.

Courtney Donald established a new career-high with 23 kills against Alabama State and freshman Veronica Turk recorded double-digit kills in both matches.

Southeastern dropped three sets to Jacksonville State by scores of 25-21, 25-17, 25-18. Turk led the way for the Lady Lions with 11 kills. Donald and Tamra Grayson chipped in seven kills apiece.

Taylor Buckner and Megan McMillin each recorded seven digs while senior transfer Becky Bekelja provided 29 assists.

Against Alabama State, Southeastern dropped the first set, 27-25, but came back to even the match by an identical score. The Lady Lions took the final two sets, 25-20 and 25-22.

Donald, the senior from Tomball, Texas, led the turnaround charge. She recorded 14 of her 23 kills in the middle two sets and hit .588 for the match. Donald added three block assists and also established a career high with 24.5 points.

Midway through the third set Southeastern pulled away from Alabama State, expanding a two point lead into an eight point lead (18-10). The Lady Lions held on to take the set.

In the fourth and final set, Alabama State enjoyed a two point cushion for the bulk of the contest. Southeastern fought back twice to tie the set on kills by Donald, putting away the set and match with a kill by Zoe Douglas.

Turk contributed 15 kills for the Lady Lions while McMillin provided a team-best 22 digs. Bekelja recorded 48 assists and chipped in six kills.

Southeastern returns to action Saturday at the ISTAP Collegiate Cup with matches against Tennessee State (11 a.m.) and South Dakota (3 p.m.). Live stats, courtesy Alabama State, will be available for both matches at LionSports.net.


Southeastern Louisiana def. Alabama State 25-27, 27-25, 25-20, 25-22
Southeastern La. (1-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Donald, Courtney 23-0-3; Turk, Veronica 15-0-0; Buckner, Taylor 6-0-0; Bekelja, Becky 6-0-2; Young, Lindsey 5-0-0; Mueller, Stephanie 3-0-1; Douglas, Zoe 2-0-0; McMillin, Megan 0-1-0; Todd, Morgan 0-1-0; Krohn, Cherish 0-2-0; Totals 60-4-3.0. (Assists) - Bekelja, Becky 48. (Dig leaders) - McMillin, Megan 22; Todd, Morgan 9; Krohn, Cherish 8

Alabama State (0-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Smith, Rachel 13-0-0; Bennett, Amber 8-1-2; Robinson, Anniiya 7-0-0; Scott, Chelsey 4-0-0; Madison, Khryssnee 4-0-0; Chock, Kirstin 3-1-0; Marshall, Myla 3-0-1; Beasley, Brooke 3-2-2; Griz, Luiz 0-0-1; Totals 45-4-3.0. (Assists) - Beasley, Brooke 36. (Dig leaders) - Griz, Luiz 19; Smith, Rachel 11


Jacksonville State def. Southeastern Louisiana 25-21,25-17,25-18
Southeastern La. (1-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Turk, Veronica 11-1-0; Donald, Courtney 7-0-0; Grayson, Tamra 7-0-0; Bekelja, Becky 2-0-0; Ramee, Elizabeth 1-0-0; Douglas, Zoe 1-0-0; Buckner, Taylor 1-0-0; Shippy, Mikayla 1-0-0; Young, Lindsey 1-1-0; Todd, Morgan 0-1-0; Krohn, Cherish 0-1-0; Totals 32-4-0.0. (Assists) - Bekelja, Becky 29. (Dig leaders) - Buckner, Taylor 7; McMillin, Megan 7

Jacksonville State (2-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Anderson, Kelsey 12-1-0; Long, Taylor 8-0-0; Meyer, Jen 6-0-2; Merget, Nicole 6-0-2; Rutherford, Emily 3-0-1; Heredia, Abbey 3-0-0; Busing, Lauren 2-0-1; Anbouba, Grace 1-0-0; Sierawski, Kaley 1-0-0; Bohne, Samantha 0-1-0; Agamy, Alina 0-1-0; Totals 42-3-3.0. (Assists) - Heredia, Abbey 35. (Dig leaders) - Cole, Kelly 15; Anderson, Kelsey 11