Box Score

CONWAY, Ark. – No. 7 seed Southeastern Louisiana dropped a hard-fought decision to No. 2 seed Sam Houston State in five sets, 25-19, 18-25, 27-25, 22-25, 15-10, Friday in the opening match of the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament at the Farris Center.
 
The Lady Lions (14-17, 8-8 Southland) forced Sam Houston (17-12, 12-4 Southland) to five sets for the second time in a week, falling just short once again despite throwing up a season-high 19 total blocks.
 
Led by Sam Gomez' double-double (17 kills, 11 blocks), Southeastern's 19 total blocks are also the most by a Southland team this season and the most by the Lady Lions in at least the past 16 seasons.
 
A junior from Mandeville, Louisiana, Gomez tied a season-high with four solo blocks while setting a career-high with her 11 total blocks, the most by a Lady Lion this season.
 
Jodi Edo, a first-team All-Southland selection, nearly recorded a double-double as well. The senior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana finished the match with 17 kills and eight blocks. Ryan Maddera added 14 kills for the Lady Lions, reaching double figures for the third time in the last four matches.
 
Baylee Laskoskie, a freshman from Spring, Texas, dished out 54 assists, one shy of her season-high. She also became the seventh player in program history to top 1,000 assists in a season and the first to accomplish the feat since Mikayla Shippy in 2013. With 11 digs in the match, Laskoskie turned in her team-leading 12th double-double of the season.
 
Lizzy Low, a freshman from Lafayette, Louisiana, led all players with 21 digs and Caroline Golden added 14 more for the Lady Lions.
 
Southeastern returned to the conference tournament for the first time since 2016 after wrapping up the regular season with the third-largest year-to-year improvement in the nation. A 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.