HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team got another near triple-double performance from
Rachel Hartmann, but getting behind by two sets was too much to overcome in a 3-1 (25-20, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22) loss to the UTEP Miners to close out the Southeastern Showdown Saturday afternoon at the Pride Roofing University Center.
The beginning of the first set was very even as UTEP would jump out ahead, but Southeastern would quickly tie the score back up. SLU eventually took its first lead at 11-10 off of a Hartmann kill. After the Miners evened the score again,
Cicily Hidalgo put the Lady Lions back in front with a kill to make it 12-11.
But the Miners took control of the set from there, scoring 11 of the next 14 points to bust open a 22-15 lead. Southeastern fought to the end though, making UTEP play eight more rallies to get the three points needed to close out the set, which included kills by Hidalgo and
Jacqueline Arrington as well as service aces by Hartmann and
Ansley Tullis. UTEP did eventually close out the set, doing so at 25-20.
Much like the first set, the second started very even, with UTEP jumping into a small lead and the Lady Lions quickly responding to tie the score. Another Hartmann kill pulled Southeastern to within a point of the Miners at 10-9, but that's where UTEP started to pull away as the Miners scored on nine of the next 13 rallies to open a 19-13 advantage. Back-to-back kills by Hidalgo helped SLU get back within three at 19-16, but from then on, UTEP needed just eight more rallies to get the six points needed to take the second set by a 25-18 score.
Trying to fight off a potential sweep, the Lady Lions found themselves down 9-7 in the third set before going on their own rally to open a bit of an advantage for the first time in the match as kills by
Kailin Newsome and
Alexis Logarbo and a block by Logarbo and Arrington drove SLU to four straight points and an 11-9 lead.
UTEP fought back to tie it up at 13-13, but that's when Southeastern went on its first extended run of the match, scoring on nine of the next 12 rallies as a kill by Newsome put the Lady Lions up 22-16.
Closing the set out would not be easy as UTEP battled back to get within a point at 23-22 before another Newsome kill put SLU on set point. Two rallies later, an attack error by the Miners gave the Lady Lions the set win.
Fueled by their late run in the third set, UTEP jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth set and pushed it out to 10-5 in the opening moments. After getting down 13-7, kills by Arrington and Hartmann along with an ace by Newsome got SLU back within three points at 13-10. Southeastern got even closer as a kill by Brewer made it just a one-point game at 16-15. Three rallies later, the score was even for the first time at 17-17 following a Miner attack error. UTEP scored on five of the next six rallies to open a 22-18 lead, however, SLU scored four of the next five to get back within a point at 23-22. That Lady Lion run was fueled by a kill and a block by Hartmann who was assisted on the block by Brewer.
However, UTEP got the points on the next two rallies to close out the set and claim the match with a 25-22 score.
Newsome had another big offensive day for the Lady Lions, tallying 16 kills on a .256 attack percentage to go with a service ace. Hartmann collected her third double-double of the season while teetering on the edge of a triple-double for the second straight match as she finished with 12 kills, 12 assists, and nine digs while also putting down two service aces. Hidalgo had nine kills and 10 digs on the afternoon.
The block was a key part of the SLU success in the match with the Lady Lions getting 16 block assists as a team in the contest. Brewer had five of them while Logarbo had four and Arrington ended the match with three block assists. Hidalgo and Hartmann each had two.
"I thought we got better at handling adversity this weekend," said SLU head volleyball coach Jeremy White. "We played some very good teams that put a ton of pressure on us and I thought we rose to the occasion. It's definitely a weekend that is going to pay dividends down the road."
Southeastern (1-2) now hits the road for a month straight, starting next weekend in Conway, Ark. for three matches at the Central Arkansas Invitational. The Lady Lions open play in that four-team round-robin event with two matches on Friday, September 1
st. They open with a 1 p.m. match against the Little Rock Trojans (0-3) before wrapping up day one with a 7 p.m. match against the host Central Arkansas Sugar Bears (1-1). All matches at the Central Arkansas Invitational take place at the Prince Center on the UCA campus.
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.
