HAMMOND, La. – Despite a gritty rally, Southeastern Louisiana dropped its Senior Day match to Sam Houston State in five sets Saturday, 25-19, 25-22, 23-25, 25-27, 15-12, in Southland Conference action at the University Center.
 
Southeastern (14-16, 8-8 Southland) started to swing the momentum against the Bearkats (16-12, 12-4 Southland) in the second set, staving off elimination in the third and fourth. The Lady Lions jumped out to a three-point advantage in the final set, but failed to hold off a late charge by Sam Houston State.
 
Jodi Edo, one of two seniors honored in a pre-match ceremony, led Southeastern with 14 kills and six total blocks. Junior outside hitter Ryan Maddera added 13 kills, reaching double figures for the fourth time this season. Sam Gomez, a junior from Mandeville, Louisiana, chipped in another 11 kills and five total blocks for the Lady Lions.
 
Baylee Laskoskie, who ranks third in the Southland in total assists, handed out 32. Ariana Hebert dished out another 14 for the Lady Lions and libero Lizzy Low added an additional eight assists.
 
Low, a freshman from Lafayette, Louisiana, led Southeastern with 18 digs. Alexis Pratt (15) and Caroline Golden (14) also contributed double-digit dig totals.
 
Edo, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, leads the conference with 37 solo blocks, ranks second in attack percentage (.336), fourth in total blocks (112) and fifth in total points (396.5).
 
UP NEXT
Southeastern's season continues Friday at 11 a.m. in the first round of the Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament. The #7-seeded Lady Lions face a rematch with Sam Houston State, the No. 2 seed. The single-elimination event runs Nov. 22-24 on the campus of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. For more information on the tournament, visit www.LionSports.net/SLCvb.
 
The Lady Lions, who return to the postseason tournament for the first time in three seasons, wrapped up the regular season with the third-largest year-to-year improvement in the nation. Southeastern's 12-win improvement over 2018 trails only Milwaukee (16), Central Michigan (14) and Robert Morris (14).
 
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.