BEAUMONT, Texas – The reigning
, two-time Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team finished its third season sweep of a SLC opponent, picking up its second straight-sets win over Lamar with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-18) victory over the Cardinals Thursday night at McDonald Gym.
Cicily Hidalgo had her fifth-straight match with double-digit kills, ending the night with 13 on a .267 attack percentage. She added two service aces and a solo block for 16 points.
Other leaders for Southeastern (16-4, 8-0 SLC) include
Hannah Brewer who had 12 points on the night with 11 kills and a service ace.
Alexis Logarbo had eight kills and two total blocks, one solo, for 9.5 points.
Gracie Duplechein had 22 assists with two service aces while
Ashley Richardson had her seventh double-double of the season with 13 assists and 10 digs and scored on an ace.
Lexi Gonzalez had 15 digs.
The Lady Lions ended the night with 47 kills on 105 total attacks with 12 errors for a team .333 attack percentage. SLU scored on six aces and four blocks in the match. The Cardinals (10-9, 2-5 SLC) finished the night with a team .167 attack percentage, getting 28 kills with 13 errors on 90 total attacks.
A kill by Brewer opened the match's scoring, but Southeastern actually worked from behind in the early going with Lamar scoring five of the next seven points to take a 5-3 lead. Lamar held that advantage for the next six rallies to take an 8-6 lead, but that's when the Lady Lion offense started to get in rhythm.
Back-to-back Brewer kills was the first two of three-straight Southeastern points as a Cardinal attack error gave SLU its first lead since 1-0 at 9-8. The two teams traded points over the next three rallies for a 10-10 score, and then a kill by
Keira Beverly gave SLU the lead for good, starting a 5-2 Southeastern run that ended with a kill by Hidalgo and a 15-12 lead.
After trading points over the next few rallies, Southeastern opened the gap as a kill by Brewer kicked off a 7-2 Lady Lion run. An attack by Hidalgo found the floor for the kill and a 23-16 SLU lead. Four rallies later, Hidalgo put down another kill on set point for a 25-18 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set started much faster for the Lady Lions with Logarbo blocking back a Cardinal attack for a 4-1 lead. That early lead hit four points as Hidalgo's serve found the floor for an ace and a 7-3 edge.
But Lamar strung together a 7-2 run to take its first lead of the second set at 11-10 before a kill by Beverly tied the score back up. That was the first of three points in a row by the Lady Lions with
Kibi Huggins and Hidalgo adding kills for a 13-11 lead. Lamar scored the next two to tie it back up at 13-13.
Southeastern found its rhythm as a kill by Logarbo started a set-ending 12-4 Lady Lions run. Brewer ended the second set with a kill for the 25-17 score and a 2-0 match lead.
Lamar scored the first two points in the third set, only to commit a service error and see SLU turn that into three-straight points with an ace by Brewer and a Cardinal attack error putting the Lady Lions up 3-2. The Cardinals scored the next two, starting an 8-3 run to take a 10-6 lead.
A Cardinal service error started a 4-0 Lady Lion run, tying the score at 10-10 on a Hidalgo ace after kills by McKelvey and Brewer. Lamar jumped back in front at 11-10 and again at 12-11, but a Cardinal attack error gave Southeastern the push to take control of the set serving as the first of five-straight SLU points. Logarbo and Beverly combined on a block, Beverly scored a kill, and a Duplechein service ace made it 16-12 Lady Lions.
After a Lamar point ended the streak of five in a row, a Beverly kill started a 6-2 run as a kill by Hidalgo gave the Lady Lions a dominant advantage at 22-15. Six rallies later, Beverly scored the match's final point with a kill, securing the 25-18 score in the third set and completing the sweep.
Southeastern has now won 16-straight matches, 25-straight in Southland Conference play, and 28-straight against SLC teams in all competitions.
The Lady Lions now prepare for the battle between the last two teams still undefeated in Southland Conference play this season as they head to Nacogdoches, Texas to take on Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. Opening serve of Saturday's match against the Ladyjacks (15-5, 7-0 SLC) is set for 12 p.m. at Robert H. Shelton Gymnasium. The match will be televised on ESPN+ with live stats also available through the host institution.
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.
