HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team picked up its ninth consecutive win in a four-set victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20, 25-16, in the University Center Saturday.
The Lions (12-11, 9-1 SLC) defeated the Islanders (7-14, 5-5 SLC) in the last match of the team's three-game home slate. SLU's win on Saturday was its ninth win in conference play.
For the second straight match,
Kyra McKelvey posted 15 kills, recording a match-high against the Islanders. After notching double-digit kills on Thursday,
Abigail Bailey stayed in double figures with 11 kills on Saturday. For the first time in her career,
Carissa Young recorded double-digit kills, finishing the win with a career-high 11 kills.
Ashley Richardson and
Brea Payne split duties at setter, with the former notching 10 digs and a team-best 29 assists to get a double-double. Payne ended the victory with 16 assists for her ninth game of assists in double figures.
Along with Richardson,
Lindsey Wickersham (18) and
Melina Gonzalez (12) posted marks of double-digit digs. Wickersham's match-best performance of 18 digs is her seventh straight match with digs in double figures. With five blocks,
Gracie Brown led the match with the most rejections at the net. The sophomore has totaled 30 blocks in her last four matches. Brown also had a match-best three service aces.
The Islanders' Kenna Buchanan (12), Tatum Mason (12), and Erin Herrmann (10) all posted kills in double digits. Virginia Van Der Werff's 42 assists were the most by any player in Saturday's match. The setter also recorded 10 digs to give her a double-double. Libero Lauren Sandvold's 17 digs were the top mark for the visitors. Kaitlyn Aleshire tied Brown's match-leading mark with five blocks.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi started well in the first set, taking a 13-9 lead. After cutting the lead to three, the Lions tied it with an Islander error and back-to-back kills from Gonzalez, 16-16. After four more ties, a McKelvey kill and an error from the visitors made it set point. A kill by Bailey gave the Lions an opening-set win, 25-23.
The Islanders found their footing in the early going of the second set, taking a five-point edge at the midway point, 15-10. From there, the visitors extended their lead to even the score at one set apiece.
After a four-point lead by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the third set, McKelvey, Bailey, and Young each found the floor to help tie the match, 8-8. With the Islanders ahead by one, Bailey earned a kill, with Gonzalez recording a kill and an ace to give SLU its first lead of the set, 18-16. The Lions held on to their lead from that point, finishing the frame with a five-point advantage, 25-20.
The fourth set was a dominant one by Southeastern, with the home team leading from beginning to end. After SLU took a four-point edge, the Islanders called a timeout, 8-4. Then, Brown served up an ace before
Ainsley Driska collected a block, 10-4. The Lions ran away with the win from there, to give the team its ninth straight victory.
The Lions will enter into a two-match road trip next week. SLU will head to Lake Charles, La., to take on McNeese (8-13, 4-6 SLC) on Thursday at 6 p.m. Then, SLU will end the week on Saturday at 1 p.m., when the team faces Nicholls (9-14, 2-8 SLC) in Thibodaux, La. The matches 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.
