NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University Volleyball team won its second-consecutive Southland Conference matchup with a five-set victory at Northwestern State, 25-19, 21-25, 20-25, 25-18, 15-8, at Prather Coliseum Thursday.
Southeastern (5-11, 2-1 SLC) took down Northwestern State (9-9, 1-2 SLC) in the second week of SLC play. After defeating Lamar in five sets last week, the Lions won their second straight tiebreaker with a win over the Demons Thursday.
Kyra McKelvey and
Keira Beverly each recorded double-digit kills for the Lions. McKelvey's 18 kills tied the match-leading mark. Beverly put together her second-highest kill total of the season with 14 during the match, while also tallying a .462 hitting percentage.
Ashley Richardson's 37 assists were both a team-high mark and the second-most assists by the junior in a match this season. Richardson also notched 11 digs for the only double-double of the match, and her fifth double-double of the season.
The Lions totaled nine blocks on the night, with McKelvey and Beverly each posting four.
Gracie Brown ended the match with three blocks, while
Ainsley Driska also tallied a pair of rejections. Like Richardson,
Abigail Bailey (12) and
Melina Gonzalez (10) totaled digs in double figures in the win. Richardson and Gonzalez also served a couple of aces each.
The Demons had three student-athletes record double-digit kills with Elsie Sanchez (18), Amber Craig (15), and Olivia Nzioki (10), each hitting the mark. Jade Longlad continued her run with the most assists in the SLC, recording a match-high 47 setups. Emmarie McFarland's 19 digs were the most by player in the match. Both Sanchez and Anna Claire Hebert served four aces apiece.
After NSU tied the opening set at 12-12, the back-to-back kills by Bailey sparked a 5-0 run for SLU. After that, the Lions led the Demons by at least four for the remainder of the set. The home team found its footing in the second set, with SLU trailing closely behind. Northwestern State forced a set point at the end of the third, with Southeastern finding momentum with a 4-0 run at the end of the frame.
After NSU jumped out to a 5-1 lead, SLU went on a 7-1 run, capped by an ace from
Lindsey Wickersham, 8-6. From there, the Lions never lost their edge, forcing a fifth set with a seven-point lead in the fourth. Southeastern dominated the fifth to secure the team's second straight victory.
SLU's seven-match road trip will end on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m., when SLU visits the East Texas A&M Lions (8-8, 2-1 SLC) in Commerce, Texas. The match will be televised on ESPN+.
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 Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB on X and Instagram or like /SLUathletics on Facebook.
