EL PASO, Texas –The reigning
, two-time Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team got one-up on the SLC's preseason favorite as it roared back from a 2-0 deficit and won the final three sets, defeating the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks 3-2 (19-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-10) Saturday afternoon on day two of the Borderland Invitational at Memorial Gym on the campus of the University of Texas-El Paso.
The first set started as evenly as one could ask as the score was tied five times through the first 10 rallies with a kill by
Hannah Brewer tying things up at 5-5. But SFA started to take control of the first set from there, scoring on 13 of the next 16 rallies to take an 18-8 lead. Southeastern came back with points out of four of the next five rallies, three coming off of kills by
Cicily Hidalgo, to make it 19-12 SFA. The Ladyjacks pushed the advantage back up to nine points at 21-12, but SLU made SFA work for the set win, scoring seven of the next 10 points to make it 24-19 before a service error gave the Ladyjacks the final point needed to take the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Southeastern jumped out to a 2-0 lead to start the second set, but SFA scored the next three to take a 3-2 lead. A Ladyjack service error tied the score back up at 3-3, and then SFA reclaimed the lead at 4-3 before a kill by Brewer leveled the score once again. That's where the decisive run of the set started as SFA scored the next seven points to open a 12-4 edge before an
Alexis Logarbo kill got the Lady Lions the serve back. That was the first of three-straight points by SLU as
India Bennett and
Lily Morgan combined on a block and Bennett scored a kill which pulled the Lady Lions to within five at 12-7. However, for the remainder of the set, the Ladyjacks had an answer for any Lady Lions push, eventually securing a 25-19 set win and a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set started the same way the second did, with Southeastern taking the first two points but SFA quickly rebounding with the opening 11 rallies being fairly equal as the Lady Lions held a 6-4 lead after a kill by Morgan but SFA pulled it back to a one-point edge with a kill, making it 6-5. But this time, it was the SLU which started to open up an advantage as a kill by Logarbo started a 6-1 SLU run which was capped by a Ladyjack attack error which gave Southeastern a 12-6 lead. SFA scored the next three and four out of five to cut the Lady Lion lead in half at 13-10. This time, SLU had all the answers as a kill by Hidalgo started a spurt of five Lady Lion points out of seven rallies as Southeastern built a 17-11 lead when Bennett and Logarbo blocked back a SFA attack for a SLU point. With Southeastern up 23-17, the Ladyjacks had one last run in them, scoring four-straight to make it a two-point match at 23-21, but Bennett got the Lady Lions on set point with a kill and Hidalgo got the Southeastern on the board in the match with a kill, ending the set at 25-21 and forcing the fourth set.
For the third set in a row, Southeastern scored the first two points which included a block by Beverly and
Kibi Huggins, however, as had been the case all match long, the first 10 rallies were relatively even as a kill by Hidalgo tied the score at 5-5. Trailing 6-5, Hidalgo scored another kill and a service ace to put the Lady Lions on top 7-6, but things seemed to turn against SLU as SFA scored six of the next seven points to take a 12-8 lead before Logarbo ended the run with a kill. But that's where the match as a whole turned quickly into Southeastern's favor as the Lady Lions scored 17 of the set's final 21 points, including the last seven in a row, to win the set at 25-16 to force the decisive fifth set. That run included six Lady Lion blocks and 11 kills as SLU keyed in on an advantage at the net.
Brewer made it eight-straight Lady Lion points as she opened the fifth set with a kill for the early edge before SFA tied it at 1-1. Southeastern would not trail in the fifth set as back-to-back kills by Beverly and Hidalgo gave SLU the lead for good. Leading 5-3, a kill by Hidalgo was followed by kills by Logarbo and Brewer and then an ace by Hidalgo for a sizable 9-3 lead in the sprint to 15 points. A SFA kill only slowed the Southeastern attack for a moment as that point was followed by a Logarbo kill, a Ladyjack attack error, and a kill by Beverly to make it an eight-point SLU edge at 12-4. SFA tried to rally, scoring five out of the next six, with the last four coming in a row, but the Lady Lions made sure the big advantage held as Beverly scored a kill to get the Lady Lions on match point and then, two rallies later, Beverly ended it with another kill to complete the reverse sweep.
Logarbo led the way with a career-high 16 kills on a .516 attack percentage as she committed no attack errors on the evening. She was also part of three blocks to finish with 17.5 points while collecting six digs and three assists. Hidalgo also found her rhythm, finishing the night with 15 kills on a .262 attack percentage and had her second double-double of the season with 14 digs. She also had both of SLU's service aces on the evening as well as seven total blocks, two solo and five assisted, for 21.5 total points in the match. Beverly, one solo and eight assisted, and Bennett, nine assisted, both had nine total blocks in the match with Beverly adding nine kills on a .471 attack percentage while Bennett added four kills.
Ashley Richardson led the team in both assists, with 28, and digs, with 15, both season highs for the true freshman as she secured her first collegiate double-double.
Lexi Gonzalez added 12 digs.
After struggling to hit over .100 in the first four matches of the season, which included the first two sets of this match, the Southeastern attack started to click in the third set as the Lady Lions hit over .350 in the final three sets of the match, including hitting .647 as a team in the fifth set. In the match, SLU hit .278 as a team, scoring 62 kills to just 18 errors on 158 total attacks. SFA (5-1) also had its struggles with its swings, getting 61 kills but 32 errors on 175 total attacks for a .166 attack percentage, leading to its first loss of the season. Where SLU separated from the Ladyjacks was the block as the Lady Lions blocked back 22 SFA attacks for points while SFA scored 10 blocks for points.
The Lady Lions (1-4) look to finish the Borderland Invitational with a winning record over its three matches in El Paso when they take on Air Force on the final day of the event. Saturday's match against the Falcons (1-3) is set for 10 a.m. MDT/11 a.m. CDT at UTEP's Memorial Gym. The match 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.
