SAN ANTONIO – The two-time reigning Southland Conference regular season champion Southeastern Louisiana University indoor volleyball team was too much for host UIW in a 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 SLC road win Wednesday afternoon at the McDermott Center.
SLU took sole possession of third place in the Southland Conference standings, improving to 15-6 overall and 7-2 in SLC play. The Lady Lions made short work of the host Cardinals (10-11, 6-3 SLC), who were coming off a big 3-2 victory at Southland co-leader SFA last week.
SLU's
India Bennett was second on the team with eight kills, while leading the way with eight blocks. Bennett's 282 total career blocks are tied with former Lady Lion Luciana Neves for seventh place on the program's career list.
Kyra McKelvey paced Southeastern with 15 kills with Abby Bailey (seven) and
Lily Morgan (six) contributing to an efficient SLU attack that hit .295 for the match.
Peyton Stokley led the Lady Lions with 22 assists, while
Ashley Richardson added 17 assists. Richardson moved past the 1,000 career-assist milestone with Stokley finishing the match 19 assists shy of matching her fellow setters career achievement.
Southeastern finished with nine service aces in Wednesday's win – one off its season-high. Richardson and
Ayla Klingenberg each had three apiece.
Bennett was one of three Lady Lions with multiple blocks, along with
Alexis Logarbo (four) and Morgan (two).
Lexi Gonzalez led SLU with 11 digs.
Kyla Malone paced UIW with 10 kills. Calissa Allison (26 assists, 14 digs) and Kade Thomas (three blocks) were the other leaders for the Cardinals.
McKelvey's four kills and Bennett's four blocks keyed Southeastern taking the first set. The second set was the most competitive of the match, featuring nine ties. McKelvey (five kills) and Bennett (three kills, three blocks) again led the way, as SLU took a 2-0 lead.
Morgan and McKelvey each had six kills in the deciding third set. Morgan was particularly efficient, hitting .750 for the set to help SLU complete the sweep.
Southeastern will return home to host HCU (11-11, 6-3 SLC) 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.
