HAMMOND, La. – Two of the top volleyball teams in the Southland Conference square off Saturday at 1 p.m. in Huntsville, Texas as third-place Southeastern Louisiana faces Sam Houston State in Johnson Coliseum.
 
The upstart Lady Lions (8-9, 3-1 Southland) carry a three-match winning streak into their initial matchup with first-place Sam Houston State (7-8, 3-0 Southland) this season. A rematch is scheduled for Nov. 16 in Hammond.
 
Live stats, courtesy Sam Houston State, are available for the match. A link can be found on the volleyball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
 
Southeastern, which already has more conference victories than the last two seasons combined, is looking for its first win over the Bearkats since the 2008 season.
 
NOTEWORTHY

• Southeastern's improving offensive attack (.200) currently ranks sixth in the Southland, the highest the Lady Lions have ranked since finishing the 2012 season ranked sixth.
• Individually, Sam Gomez (.292) and Jodi Edo (.282) rank fourth and seventh, respectively.
• Edo (2.62 k/set), Caroline Golden (2.60 k/set) and Gomez (2.22 k/set) are Southeastern's top attackers.
• Baylee Laskoskie ranks fifth in the Southland with 7.96 assists per set.
• Golden, a junior from Mandeville, Louisiana, ranks fifth in service aces (0.43 sa/set).
• Edo, a senior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is tied for seventh in the Southland with 0.97 blocks per set.
• Alexis Pratt (3.31 d/set), Golden (2.59 d/set), Lizzy Low (2.29 d/set) and Jolie Hidalgo (2.17 d/set) represent the Lady Lions' top defenders along the back line.

 
UP NEXT
Southeastern returns home to the University Center for its Homecoming match against conference foe Northwestern State. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday.
 
LAST MATCH
Scoring six of the final seven points, Southeastern clawed back to win a conference match against rival Nicholls, 25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 18-25, 16-14, Tuesday at Stopher Gym.
 
Edo led Southeastern with 13 kills, reaching double figures for the 10th time this season. Golden added 11 while Gomez and Hidalgo, a freshman from Lafayette, Louisiana, each contributed nine more kills.
 
Laskoskie dished out 36 assists to aid the offense. Golden served up four of the Lady Lions' 10 aces, including the final two points of the match.
 
Karlee Wilkerson struggled on the attack but was a defensive stalwart. The sophomore from Springfield, Louisiana had a hand in six of the Lady Lions' 12 blocks, including a career-high five solo blocks. Pratt led Southeastern with 17 digs and Hidalgo added a career-best 15 for good measure.

DIGGIN' IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin' It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
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 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @Southeastern_vb on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.