EL PASO, Texas –The reigning
, two-time Southland Conference Champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team finished the Borderland Invitational with its second-straight win by sweeping the Air Force Falcons 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-17) Saturday at Memorial Gym on the campus of the University of Texas-El Paso.
Southeastern dropped two of the match's first three rallies, but quickly took control of the first set. Trailing 2-1, a kill by
Keira Beverly started a 9-1 Lady Lion run that ended with a kill by
Cicily Hidalgo for a 10-3 SLU lead. Air Force rallied, scoring 11 of the next 17 points to cut the Lady Lion lead down to two points, 16-14. Southeastern got back in rhythm, scoring the next five points to reestablish control of the set, and rode that to scoring nine of the final 11 points of the set.
Hannah Brewer scored a kill on set point to give the Lady Lions a 25-16 set win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set was evenly divided through 14 rallies as the score was tied 7-7, but the Falcon service error that evened the score was the start of a 12-2 Southeastern run as Hidalgo scored a kill to make the score 19-9. Air Force worked to string a run together, but the Lady Lions picked off a point throughout the remainder of the set. That was enough to get SLU to the end as a kill by Beverly completed the set with the Lady Lions taking it, 25-17, to go up 2-0 in the match.
Air Force and Southeastern were even through the first six rallies of the third set, but again it was the Lady Lions who started to pull away. With the score tied 3-3, a Falcon service error was the first of five-straight Lady Lion points which was part of a bigger 9-1 SLU run as
Alexis Logarbo got a kill to fall to give Southeastern a 12-4 lead. Over the remainder of the set, each time the Falcons strung a couple points together, SLU quickly responded in kind to maintain its edge. A kill by Beverly put the Lady Lions on match point, and an Air Force attack missed the court, giving SLU a 25-17 win in the third set, securing the sweep.
Hidalgo secured her second double-double in a row, and third of the season, by knocking down a team-high 14 kills while gathering 11 digs. She finished the match hitting .237 on the attack and had a pair of assisted blocks as well to finish with 15 total points. Beverly was the next highest point scorer, scoring eight kills with no errors on a .571 attack percentage while leading the team with six block assists to finish with 11 points. Logarbo had nine kills on the day and a .438 attack percentage with three block assists for 10.5 points. Brewer had a team-high 19 digs from her middle position while totaling seven kills, an assist, and a block assist for 7.5 points.
Ashley Richardson had three of SLU's four service aces in the match with
Lexi Gonzalez getting the other.
Southeastern continued its improved attack, scoring 45 kills to 16 errors on 110 total attacks for a team hitting percentage of .264 on the day. SLU also blocked back 12 Falcon attacks for points. The Falcons (1-4) had its struggles on the attack, getting 21 kills and 20 errors on 106 total attacks for a .009 attack percentage. Air Force had three service aces and blocked back seven SLU attacks.
After six matches out west to start the season, the Lady Lions (2-4) come home for its home opener on Tuesday as Southeastern welcomes South Alabama to Hammond, America. Opening serve of Tuesday's match against the Jaguars (1-3) is set for 6 p.m. in the University Center. After the match, players will be available to sign autographs for the fans in attendance. If you can't make it out to the University Center, Tuesday's match will be televised on ESPN+ with live stats also available.
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.
