HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team will look to continue its unbeaten start to the 2022 season when it travels to Stephenville, Texas to compete in the Dr. Pam Litttleton Classic.
 
Southeastern (4-0) opens the tournament against host Tarleton State (3-1) Friday at 10 a.m. SLU then faces Prairie View (0-4) at 10 a.m. and Tennessee State (0-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday. Friday's match will be televised on ESPN+. Saturday's matches will be streamed on WACInternational.tv (free subscription required).  
 
The Lady Lions extended their win streak to open the year with a 25-19, 25-23, 25-17 sweep of Jackson State in Tuesday's home opener. Cicily Hidalgo (15 kills) and Kailin Newsome (11 kills) highlighted a Lady Lion offense that posted a .279 attack percentage. Crispin Adams (eight blocks) and Ansley Tullis (17 digs) topped a solid defensive performance for SLU.
 
Southeastern leads the Southland Conference with a .248 hitting percentage, while also pacing the league with 12.57 assists and 13.64 kills per set. Hidalgo is fourth in the league with a .349 hitting percentage, as she (4.00 kps, 3^rd) and Newsome (2.92 kps, 8^th) both rank among the league's leaders in kills.
 
Gracie Duplechein (5.43 assists per set) and Peyton Stokley (4.93 aps) have effectively split setting duties for the Lady Lions, while Stokley also is tops on the team with nine service aces – good for fifth in the SLC.
 
Defensively, Adams (1.43, 4^th) and Tullis (3.86, 6^th) rank among the conference's best in blocks and digs per set, respectively. As a team, SLU is fourth in both digs and blocks in the SLC rankings.
 
Tarleton State opened the season with victories over Farleigh Dickinson, Northwestern State and ULM, before dropping a 3-0 decision at Texas Tech Tuesday night. Grayson Shirpick leads TSU with 3.15 kills per set.
 
Southeastern will be playing Prairie View for the second straight weekend, as the Lady Lions swept the Panthers, 26-24, 25-10, 25-22, last Friday in Beaumont, Texas. Kylee Owens comes into the weekend with a team-high 3.70 kills per set.
 
Tennessee State opened the season with straight-set losses to Stanford and Lipscomb last weekend. Johanna Alcantara is leading the team with 3.83 kills per set.
 
Following the trip to Tarleton State, Southeastern will head to Queens, New York to compete in the Jack Kaiser Volleyball Classic. SLU opens the tournament Friday with a 9 a.m. match versus host St. John's, before facing Stonehill College at 4 p.m. The Lady Lions take on Bryant to close the tournament Saturday at 10 a.m.
 
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, @LionUpVB on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.