HAMMOND, La. – The reigning
, two-time Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team celebrated the unveiling of its 2023 Southland Conference championship banner by sweeping the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-22) Tuesday night at the University Center.
The celebration was short-lived as Southeastern quickly found itself down 5-0 to start the match before
Hannah Brewer finally got the Lady Lions on the board with a kill. That kill started a 6-3 run for SLU which pulled the Lady Lions back to within 8-6 as an attack by
Kibi Huggins drew a Ragin' Cajuns player into the net. ULL opened its advantage back up to 10-6 with back-to-back points, but an attack error by the Cajuns started the pivotal run for Southeastern as SLU scored the next six points with a
Lexi Gonzalez serve falling for an ace to give the Lady Lions a 12-10 lead. ULL scored four of the next five to reclaim the lead at 14-13, but a Cajuns service error started the run that put the set away as Southeastern went on another 6-0 run with a kill by
Cicily Hidalgo putting the Lady Lions up 19-14. ULL made one last push to get back into the set, scoring seven of the next 10 points to make it a one-point set, 22-21, but an
India Bennett kill started the final push as SLU scored on three of the set's final four rallies to take the set, 25-22, on
Keira Beverly's kill and give the Lady Lions a 1-0 lead in the match.
Southeastern got off to a better start in the second set as
Alexis Logarbo and a ULL attack error put the Lady Lions up 2-0. The Cajuns scored the next two to tie the score, but SLU responded with the next three as Hidalgo scored back-to-back kills and
Ashley Richardson's serve fell for an ace and a 5-2 Lady Lion lead. That was just the start of what would become a 7-1 Southeastern run as another Cajun attack error put Southeastern up 9-3. ULL had its own answer, scoring the next six points to tie the score up at 9-9 before another kill by Huggins put SLU back in front. That was the first of three straight and five out of the next six to go in the Lady Lions favor as another Cajun attack error gave Southeastern a 14-10 lead. With SLU leading 18-13, ULL made one last run to get in the set, going on a 5-2 run to cut the Southeastern lead down to 20-18. However, Richardson scored a setter kill as the Lady Lions scored four of the next five to get onto set point, and then two rallies later, Hidalgo finished it off with a kill for the 25-20 score and a 2-0 lead in the match.
It was another slow start for Southeastern to kick off the third set as Louisiana-Lafayette jumped out to an 8-3 lead. A solo block by Bennett got the rhythm going for the Lady Lions, representing the first of four-straight SLU points, making the score 8-7 ULL. A service error by the Lady Lions couldn't derail the building Southeastern momentum as SLU a kill by Huggins not only got the serve back for the Lady Lions, but also started an 11-0 Southeastern run, giving SLU complete control of the set as Huggins and Beverly combined on a block to make it 18-9 Lady Lions. The Ragin' Cajuns scored the next five to try and jump start a comeback attempt, but Southeastern had enough answers down the stretch to keep ULL at bay. Louisiana-Lafayette got as close as 22-20, but back-to-back Lady Lion points, including a kill by Hidalgo, put Southeastern on match point. Three rallies later, another Hidalgo kill finished it off as the Lady Lions took the third set 25-22 to complete the sweep.
"I think [the ability to overcome early deficits in sets] is a testament to how high the level of volleyball is when we play to our potential," said SLU head volleyball coach Jeremy White. "It requires a lot of grit and aggressive play to work your way out of those situations and I'm proud of this group for it."
Hidalgo was the top point-scorer for the Lady Lions on the evening, tallying 15 kills, on a .462 attack percentage, and a block assist for 15.5 points on the night. She also added a team-best 18 digs for her team-leading sixth double-double of the season and third in a row. Beverly was the next top-scorer for Southeastern with 10.5 points off nine kills, hitting at a .500 attack percentage, and three block assists. Richardson also had a double-double, her fourth of the season and third in a row, as she dished out 17 assists with 14 digs. She also scored two service aces and a kill on the evening.
Gracie Duplechein finished the night with 20 assists to lead the Lady Lions.
Southeastern ended the contest hitting .263 as a team, scoring 46 kills to 15 errors on 118 total attacks. SLU also scored with six service aces and five total blocks in the match. Louisiana-Lafayette (2-7) ended its night with a .180 attack percentage, scoring 34 kills with 14 errors on 111 total attacks. The Ragin' Cajuns also tallied seven service aces on the night and blocked back four attacks for points.
"We've really picked up our play these last couple of weeks," continued White, "but I still believe there's a lot we cab get better at, which makes it exciting knowing how much more we have in the tank. Knowing how we've responded to the adversity of a rough start, I feel confident in our ability to handle a much more competitive Southland Conference this year."
The Lady Lions (6-4) look to keep the winning way going on Friday as Southeastern wraps up non-conference play with two matches as part of the Ragin' Cajuns Classic on Friday. SLU starts the day with an 11 a.m. match against the Florida A&M Rattlers (7-3) before rounding out the day in Lafayette with a 3 p.m. match against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (7-3). All matches of the Ragin' Cajuns Classic will take place in the Earl K. Long Gymnasium on the Louisiana-Lafayette campus. The matches will not be live streamed, but live stats will be 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.
