HAMMOND, La. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference regular season champion Southeastern Louisiana University indoor volleyball team will open the second half of conference play with a 1 p.m. match Wednesday at UIW.
 
The match between SLU (14-6, 6-2 SLC) and the host Cardinals (10-10, 6-2 SLC) will be televised on ESPN+. The Lady Lions and UIW are currently tied for third place in the league standings – a match back of SLC co-leaders SFA and UTRGV.
 
Southeastern is coming off a 26-24, 25-22, 25-21 win over defending SLC Tournament champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi last Saturday. Kyra McKelvey powered SLU to the victory with 20 kills and a .655 hitting percentage in the road sweep of the Islanders.
 
The Lady Lions lead the Southland with 13.51 kills per set with McKelvey (3.77 kills per set), Alexis Logarbo (2.40), India Bennett (2.10), Anne Brauckmiller (1.96) and Abby Bailey (1.54) the top performers in that category. Ashley Richardson and Peyton Stokley are contributing 6.14 and 5.50 assists, respectively, to set up the Southeastern attack.
 
Defensively, SLU also continues to pace the Southland with 2.49 team blocks per set. Bennett's 1.65 blocks per set are good for fifth in all of Division I and she is joined by Logarbo (0.94 blocks per set, 6^th) among the SLC leaders. Lexi Gonzalez leads Southeastern and ranks fifth in the league with 3.96 digs per set.
 
UIW, which is coached by former Lady Lion assistant coach Gabryel Ording, is coming off its biggest win of the season, as the Cardinals handed SFA its first league loss, 25-20, 26-24, 16-25, 18-25, 19-17, last Saturday in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
The trio of Kitana Tu'ufuli (2.79 kills per set), Finley Evans (2.73) and Kyla Malone (2.65) are the top contributors to the UIW attack with Calissa Allison (7.22 assists per set) serving as the primary setter. Kade Thomas leads the Cardinal defense with 52 blocks, while Ashton Rogers is tops on the team with 3.82 digs per set.
 
Southeastern will return home to host HCU for a noon match Saturday in the University Center. Saturday is also Alumni Day in the UC and former Lady Lions in attendance will be recognized. Saturday's match can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on KSLU 90.9 The Lion.
 
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 on X and Instagram or like /SLUathletics on Facebook.