MOBILE, Ala. – The two-time reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team saw its undefeated start to the 2025 season come to an end with a 25-22, 25-20, 25-18 loss to South Alabama in the opening match of the Jaguar Invitational Thursday evening at Jaguar Gymnasium.
The first loss of the season for SLU (5-1) ended a 29-match winning streak in regular season action for the Lady Lions, as the defeat was the first in regular season play for Southeastern since a 3-0 loss at UTEP on Sept. 5, 2024. The host Jaguars (3-3) evened their season ledger with the sweep.
Thursday's loss spoiled the best effort of
Ayla Klingenberg's young SLU career. The freshman from St. George, Kan. finished with nine kills on 14 attacks for a .643 hitting percentage.
Abby Bailey,
Alexis Logarbo and
Kyra McKelvey finished with seven kills each for Southeastern, while
Lily Morgan chipped in six kills on nine tries, hitting at a .556 clip.
Ashley Richardson and
Peyton Stokley shared setting duties, finishing with 16 and 14 assists, respectively, for a Lady Lion attack that finished with a .148 hitting percentage for the match.
The nation's leader in blocks per set heading into the match,
India Bennett led SLU with five blocks. Lexi Gonzales had a team-high 13 digs for Southeastern.
South Alabama would not be denied in Thursday's win, hitting .266 for the match, including .319 over the final two sets. Cambria Gaier led the Jaguars with 13 kills, while Sarah Gooch added 12 winners, as both double-digit kill performances came with a .417 attack percentage.
The opening set was tightly-contested throughout, as a block by Bennett and Logarbo tied the match at 22-22 – the 13
th tie of the opening set. However, USA closed the set with three straight points to take the opening stanza, 25-22.
The Jaguars carried the momentum of the tight opening set to the sweep. SLU committed 14 attack errors to just five for the hosts over the final two sets, as South Alabama closed out the victory.
Southeastern will be looking to bounce back Friday, closing tournament play with a 1 p.m. contest versus Tulane. Live stats, provided by tourney host South Alabama, will be accessible via the volleyball schedule page at
www.LionSports.net.
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.
