Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Southeastern Louisiana volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday at the FAU Invitational to open the 2013 season, picking up a dominating win over Bethune-Cookman.

Southeastern (1-1), in its first season under head coach Jim Smoot, dropped three-straight sets to host Florida Atlantic (1-1) by scores of 28-26, 25-16, 25-17 to open the season. The Lady Lions rebounded later in the day, however, to sweep three-consecutive sets from BCU (0-2) by scores of 25-13, 25-13, 25-9.

Sophomore outside hitter Tiffany Thomas, a transfer from Louisiana Tech, and junior Elizabeth Ramee led the Lady Lion offense with the help of sophomore setter Mikayla Shippy. Senior Megan McMillin and Shippy, as well as fellow sophomores Brooke Balser and Morgan Todd, anchored the defensive effort.

The Lady Lions dropped a tight first set to FAU, 28-26. Each team led by as many as four points at different stages, but the Owls powered back to grab the set and the momentum.

Thomas powered Southeastern with 16 kills, four digs, three blocks and a service ace against FAU. Freshman Landry Bullock tallied six blocks in her collegiate debut as the Lady Lions amassed eight total blocks as a team. Shippy dished out 24 assists and tied Megan McMillin with a team-best eight digs.

Southeastern rebounded with a superb all-around effort against BCU, limiting the Wildcats to a negative hitting percentage and turning in nine total blocks. The Lady Lions hit .273 collectively and Ramee led the attack with nine kills (.368 attack percentage).

Freshman Rachael Bunn hit .600 with six kills on 10 attempts, without committing an attack error. She also tallied seven total blocks, including a pair solo. Shippy dished out 25 assists. Leading the way defensively were Balser and Todd with seven digs apiece.

Southeastern wraps up play at the FAU Invitational Saturday at noon against Jacksonville (2-0). The Lady Lions return home Tuesday to host Tulane at 7 p.m. in the 2013 home opener. All home volleyball matches this season are free to the public.


FAU def. Southeastern La. 28-26, 25-16, 25-17
Southeastern La. (0-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Thomas, Tiffany 16-1-3; Bunn, Rachael 4-0-2; Bullock, Landry 3-0-6; Devlin, Shelby 1-0-2; Balser, Brooke 1-1-0; Rauch, Jessica 1-0-0; Hartley, Parrie 1-0-0; Shippy, Mikayla 1-0-1; Totals 28-2-8.0. (Assists) - Shippy, Mikayla 24. (Dig leaders) - Shippy, Mikayla 8; McMillin, Megan 8

FAU (1-0) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Bulajic, Ivana 12-0-3; Tekavec, Kristi 11-0-0; St. Sume, Jennifer 10-0-6; Pizzoccheri, Alessia 7-1-2; Mellupe, Liene 4-0-2; Stepanovic, Katarina 2-1-1; Harvard, Alexandra 0-1-0; Rosado, Nathalie 0-1-0; Totals 46-4-8.0. (Assists) - Jovanovic, Jelena 28; Harvard, Alexandra 11. (Dig leaders) - Rosado, Nathalie 16; Pizzoccheri, Alessia 11

Site: Boca Raton, FL (FAU Arena)
Date: Aug 30, 2013   Time: 1:16   
Referees: Kim Harrell, Moises Santiago



Southeastern La. def. BCU 25-13, 25-13, 25-9
BCU (0-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) – Simon, Rhea 5-0-0; Pierre, Delicia 5-0-1; Turner, Lauren 4-0-1; Hudson, Destiny 2-0-0; Cormier, Aria 1-0-0; Jimenez, Jennifer 0-1-0; Totals 17-1-1.0. (Assists) – Thomas, Alexa 15. (Dig leaders) – Arlaud, Jill 8; Pierre, Delicia 6

Southeastern La. (1-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Ramee, Elizabeth 9-1-3; Bunn, Rachael 6-2-7; Bullock, Landry 5-0-2; Thomas, Tiffany 2-0-0; Rauch, Jessica 2-0-1; Hartley, Parrie 2-1-0; Grace, Lindsay 2-0-1; Devlin, Shelby 1-0-0; Balser, Brooke 1-0-0; Krohn, Cherish 0-0-1; Shippy, Mikayla 0-0-1; Todd, Morgan 0-1-0; Totals 30-5-9.0. (Assists) - Shippy, Mikayla 25. (Dig leaders) - Balser, Brooke 7; Todd, Morgan 7

Site: Boca Raton, FL (FAU Arena)
Date: Aug 30, 2013   Time: 1:32   
Referees: Kim Harrell, Michael Gale
SLU coach issued a yellow in set 2