HAMMOND, La. – Incarnate Word rebounded from a setback in the first set to fly past Southeastern Louisiana in four, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-19, in the Lady Lions' Southland Conference opener Saturday at the University Center.
 
Caroline Golden (Mandeville, Louisiana) opened up the match with a service ace, helping Southeastern (1-11, 0-1 Southland) jump out to a 5-1 lead over the Cardinals (3-9, 1-1 Southland) in the initial set. UIW closed within one point midway through the set, 15-14, but three-straight errors by the Cardinals bolstered Southeastern's advantage.
 
Elyssa Purcell (Alvin, Texas) recorded five of her team-leading 11 kills in the opening stanza and Golden (Mandeville, Louisiana) picked up six of her 10 digs.
 
Despite also scoring the first point of the second set, the Lady Lions quickly found themselves playing from behind. The Cardinals built a 12-5 advantage from which Southeastern never recovered.
 
Offensively, Southeastern turned in its best performance in the second set, posting a .212 attack percentage, but a match-high .412 attack percentage by UIW negated the Lady Lion effort.
 
The Cardinals soared to a 12-3 lead in the third set, eventually extending their lead as high as 12 points on the way to taking control of the match.
 
In the final set, UIW again jumped out to an early lead, 4-1, before the Lady Lions rallied to tie the score at 10-10 on a kill by Jodi Edo (Baton Rouge, Louisiana). After several rallies back and forth, the Cardinals put the match to bed by scoring the final four points.
 
MATCH NOTES

• Purcell recorded 11 kills for the third time in her last four matches to lead the Lady Lions' offensive attack. Golden added eight kills, while Sam Gomez (Mandeville, Louisiana) and Tempestt Vaughn (Beaumont, Texas) chipped in six and five, respectively.
• Vaughn (.417) and Gomez (.353) each turned in one of their better hitting performances of the season. Neither player was charged with an attack error despite reaching double-digit attempts.
• Haley Baker dished out a team-leading 25 assists. The Eklton, Maryland native began the season ranked sixth all-time in program history in career assists. Now with 1,823 in her career, she needs 448 more assists this season to tie for fifth all-time.
• Lexie Torres (San Antonio, Texas) tied her season high with 16 digs, leading the Lady Lions' defensive effort against her hometown university.
• Gomez had a hand in five of the Lady Lions' 10 team blocks, including three solo.

 
UP NEXT
Southeastern heads back out on the road for four-straight matches, traveling to Central Arkansas (Sept. 25), Nicholls (Sept. 27), New Orleans (Sept. 29) and Jackson State (Oct. 2) before returning to the University Center for a Southland matchup with Stephen F. Austin (Oct. 4).
 
DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lady Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. S Club members also gain membership in the Diggin' It Club.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin' It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at LAA@Southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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