HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team didn't have the best of starts in its midweek match-up with McNeese State, but the Lady Lions found the groove in the second set and knocked off the Cowgirls 3-1 (26-28, 25-22, 25-23, 25-18) Tuesday night at the University Center.
SLU looked poised to put the first set away, leading 21-17 after a
Cicily Hidalgo kill, but the Cowgirls used three Lady Lion errors to go on a five-point run to take the lead at 22-21. The two teams exchanged the next few rallies until another Hidalgo kill was followed by a block by
Crispin Adams, putting the Lady Lions on set point at 26-25. However, the Cowgirls scored the last three points, two coming off blocks at the net to take the set.
Things didn't start much better in the second set either as the Lady Lions trailed 9-4 after the first 13 rallies. But an
Alexis Logarbo kill spurred a 7-1 SLU run, capped by a service ace by
Gracie Duplechein which gave the Lady Lions an 11-10 lead. A kill by
Crispin Adams gave SLU a 15-14 lead, the first of four straight Lady Lion points that helped SLU open an 18-14 lead after Logarbo and Adams blocked back a Cowgirl attack. That gave the Lady Lions enough of an opening to hold the lead for the rest of the set, and a block by
Kailin Newsome ended the set and leveled up the match.
The Lady Lions continued to find themselves in an early hole in the third set, trailing the Cowgirls 15-9 at the media timeout. But out of the break, the Cowgirls put the serve into the net and that was the break SLU was looking for, scoring on 12 of the next 16 rallies to turn that deficit into a 23-19 lead following a
Hannah Brewer kill. A
Kailin Newsome kill ended the set in SLU's favor.
Now on the cusp of victory, the Lady Lions ended any doubt about the match's result right at the start of the fourth set as SLU scored on the first seven rallies. The Cowgirls would only get as close as four points in the set at 19-15, but the Lady Lions scored six of the final ten rallies to close things out as a Cicily Hidago kill ended the match in the Lady Lions favor.
Kailin Newsome posted her seventh double-double of the season with 18 kills and ten digs while adding two solo blocks and two assists.
Cicily Hidalgo posted her fifth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 13 digs to go with a service ace and three assisted blocks.
Crispin Adams added 12 kills, a solo block, and four assisted blocks.
Peyton Stokley led the team with 25 assists.
Gracie Duplechein recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 23 assists and ten digs. Stokley and
Hannah Brewer each had two service aces while Brewer also assisted on six blocks in the match.
The serve proved key in the match as SLU got six service aces to fall in the match while McNeese committed nine errors on the serve. That helped offset a tough hitting night for the Lady Lions as SLU hit for a .199 attack percentage while the Cowgirls hit for a .238 attack percentage. Play at the net was also key as the two teams scored 13 points each due to blocks, whether assisted or solo.
The Lady Lions (13-3, 3-1 SLC) makes the hour drive down I-55 to I-10 east into New Orleans on Thursday to take on the University of New Orleans for the second of three matches during the week. Opening serve against the Privateers (8-7, 2-1 SLC), who rallied from two sets down to defeat Nicholls State in five sets on Tuesday, is set for 6:30 P.M. at UNO's Human Performance Center and can be watched on ESPN+.
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.
