HAMMOND, La. – The reigning
, two-time Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team got a breakout performance from sophomore opposite
Kyra McKelvey to guide the Lady Lions to their third 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-19, 18-25, 15-6) win of the season over the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks on Saturday afternoon at the University Center.
Southeastern (20-4, 12-0 SLC) extended the nation's second-longest win streak out to 20 in a row while moving its win streak in Southland Conference play out to 29 and win streak against SLC teams in all competitions to 32.
McKelvey was efficient on her way to a career high 21 kills, needing just 29 total attacks and committing only two errors to finish the match with a .655 attack percentage. She added a block assist to get to her total of 21.5 points, also a career high.
On the day she was honored as one of six seniors on Senior Day,
Cicily Hidalgo had her second 20-point match of the week, finishing with 13 kills, five service aces, and three total blocks, one of which was solo. Her five aces gave her 11 aces on the week, following a six-ace performance against Nicholls on Thursday night. She also got her second double-double of the week, and 12
th of the season, with 15 digs in the match.
Hannah Brewer completed her Senior Day match with 11.5 points, finishing with nine kills, two aces, and a block assist while getting a match high-tying 21 digs.
Alexis Logarbo rounded out the top scorers with 11 points on 10 kills and two block assists.
Ashley Richardson had 29 assists, the most among all setters in the match, while
Gracie Duplechein, also celebrated on her senior night, picked up her seventh double-double of the season with 28 assists and 13 digs.
Lexi Gonzalez, who was also honored pregame, tied Brewer with 21 digs. The fifth senior to play in the match,
India Bennett, had four kills and five total blocks, two solo, for 7.5 points.
Kibi Huggins, the sixth senior to be honored pregame, did not appear in the match.
The Lady Lions ended the match with 64 kills on 176 total attacks with 27 errors for a team .205 attack percentage. SLU also scored on eight service aces and 10 blocks. Stephen F. Austin (18-7, 10-2 SLC) was held to a team .161 attack percentage, getting 53 kills with 26 errors on 168 total attacks. The Ladyjacks matched Southeastern's ace and block total, getting points off of eight aces and 10 blocks of their own.
"I think fans got an opportunity to see the best volleyball the Southland Conference can provide," said SLU head volleyball coach Jeremy White. "The fact that we were able to pull it out in five for a third time is a testament to the grit and resiliency of this team. Our senior class showed once again why they are arguably the greatest class of student-athletes that have ever played at Southeastern. I'm sure if we see that team again in the conference tournament, it'll be fireworks for a fourth time."
By completing the regular season sweep of SFA, the Lady Lions add the tiebreaker to their two-game lead over the Ladyjacks for the SLC regular season championship with four matches remaining. SLU's next two opponents, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas-Rio Grande Valley, both sit three games back.
Southeastern got off to a bit of a slow start as Stephen F. Austin scored the match's first three points before
Keira Beverly got the Lady Lions on the board. That was the first of three-straight SLU points with Hidalgo getting a kill and then combining with Bennett on a block to tie the score at 3-3. SFA answered with the next two to go up 5-3, only to see SLU go on another 3-0 run as Bennett, Hidalgo, and McKelvey all got kills as the Lady Lions took their first lead at 6-5. That lead was temporary as the Ladyjacks scored the next two points to go up 7-6.
That's where SLU took control of the set as a SFA attack error got Hidalgo on the serve, and she took advantage. The next four points were all aces by Hidalgo before another SFA attack error made it six-straight Lady Lion points and gave Southeastern a 12-7 lead. That was just the start of what would become a 13-3 SLU run, which was capped by Logarbo and Beverly combining on a block for a 19-10 Southeastern lead.
Closing out the first set would not be an easy chore for the Lady Lions as Stephen F. Austin scored the next three, scoring on nine of the next 14 rallies, fighting off two set points, to get the deficit down to five points. However, McKelvey would close it out on SLU's third set point opportunity, scoring on a kill to end the set at 25-19 and give the Lady Lions a 1-0 lead in the match.
While Brewer opened the scoring in the second set with a kill, SFA jumped out to the early edge by scoring seven of the next nine points to take a 7-3 lead. Three-straight kills by McKelvey get Southeastern back within a point, but the Ladyjacks answered in a big way, scoring the next six points to go up 13-6.
Southeastern would eventually find itself trailing 18-10, but then a kill by Bennett started an 8-3 SLU push. A kill by Brewer capped a run of three-straight Lady Lion points, pulling Southeastern back to within three points at 21-18.
The comeback was not to be, though, as SFA got the side outs to keep SLU from gathering anymore momentum or getting any closer than three points for the remainder of the set. Leading 23-20, the Ladyjacks scored the set's final two points to win the set by a 25-20 score and tie the match up at 1-1.
Much like the first set, Southeastern found itself down three points right at the start before rallying back. Trailing 5-3, another McKelvey kill began an 11-3 Lady Lion run, giving SLU the lead for good in the set. A Ladyjack attack error gave Southeastern a 14-8 advantage.
Stephen F. Austin got as close as four points several times throughout the remainder of the set, the last at 19-15, but another Ladyjack attack error started a run of four straight Lady Lion points as a kill by Logarbo gave SLU a 23-15 advantage. It took six more rallies for Southeastern to close it out as the SFA again fought off three set points, but a kill by Brewer ended the third frame by a 25-19 score, giving Southeastern the advantage in the match again at 2-1.
After ending the third set, Brewer started the fourth set with a kill to give SLU the early lead. But, much like the second set, Stephen F. Austin enjoyed the early edge by scoring four of the next five points to go up 4-2. After the two teams sided each other out, the Ladyjacks enjoyed a 5-3 advantage.
Another Ladyjack attack error started a three-point run by SLU with another McKelvey kill putting Southeastern back in front at 6-5. The two teams traded the next six points evenly, giving the Lady Lions a 9-8 lead as Brewer notched another kill.
But the Ladyjacks took control of the set from there, scoring five-straight points to go up 13-9. That run extended out to a 7-1 spurt for SFA to take a 15-10 lead. SLU cut that deficit down to three several times over the next course of the set, the final time at 21-18 on an ace by
Gracie Duplechein.
However, Stephen F. Austin appeared to gather the momentum heading into the decisive fifth set by scoring the fourth's final four points, winning the set by a 25-18 score and ensuing the Ladyjacks and Lady Lions would face a deciding set for the third time in three meetings this season.
But, much like the meeting in El Paso, it was the Lady Lions who took control of the fifth set almost immediately. A kill by Logarbo opened the scoring, which was followed by an ace by Brewer, a kill by Hidalgo, a SFA attack error, and another ace by Brewer to give Southeastern a 5-0 lead.
Stephen F. Austin jumped right back into it, scoring the next four points out of a timeout to cut it down to a one-point lead. However, that only preceded an even bigger SLU run as a kill by Hidalgo was followed by two-straight SFA attack errors, a Logarbo kill, another Hidalgo kill, and another Ladyjack attack error to make it 11-4 Lady Lions.
SLU needed just six more rallies from that point to finish the sprint to 15 points. as Hidalgo's 13
th kill put SLU on match points, which was immediately followed by her fifth service ace of the day, capping a dominant fifth set by a 15-6 score, securing the 3-2 match win for the Lady Lions.
Southeastern's homestand against the top-third of the SLC standings continues on Thursday as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi comes to Hammond, America. Opening serve of Thursday's contest against the Islanders (14-9, 9-3 SLC) is set for 6:30 p.m. in the University Center. The match will be televised on ESPN+ with live stats available through LionSports.net.
Also, Thursday will be the annual Dig the Lions night, where students who attend will get a free Dig the Lions t-shirt or tank top, while supplies last.
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.
