HAMMOND, La. – The Southland Conference-leading Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team is set to take on McNeese and Nicholls in a two-match road swing on Thursday and Saturday.
 
Red-hot SLU (12-11, 9-1 SLC) has won each of its last nine matches to take the driver's seat in the SLC standings. Last week, the Lions defeated UTRGV in a five-set battle for the top spot in the league. SLU then went on to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a four-set contest on Saturday.
 
On Thursday at 6 p.m., Southeastern will visit Lake Charles, La., to face off with McNeese (8-13, 4-6 SLC) in the final regular-season meeting between the two conference foes. On Saturday, the Lions will spend Halloween in Thibodaux, La., where SLU will battle Nicholls (9-14, 2-8 SLC), with first serve set for 1 p.m. The matches will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Kyra McKelvey and Gracie Brown enter this week having each won two SLC weekly awards in October. The senior continues to put together great offensive performances, posting 35 kills in the team's last two matches. The Navarre, Fla. native also has averaged 3.38 kills per set, the fourth-best mark in the league.
 
Brown, who won the SLC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, also delivered strong play at the net last week. The sophomore finished the week with 18 kills and 15 blocks, earning the first double-digit blocking performance of her career with 10 blocks against UIW. Abigail Bailey put together one of the best weeks in her collegiate career last week, securing a career-best 15 kills against UTRGV, while also producing double-digit kills (11) against the Islanders.
 
Ashley Richardson has continued to produce at setter for the Lions. The junior has averaged 7.68 assists per set to rank fourth in the Southland. In SLU's wins last week, the League City, Texas native tallied 64 assists, 27 digs, and six service aces to notch her seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season. Richardson was named Honorable Mention for the league's Setter of the Week award on Monday.
 
Keira Beverly has been one of the most accurate hitters in the conference, averaging a .312 attack percentage, the seventh-best mark in the SLC. The Mandeville, La. native has also been one of the conference's top blockers, posting 62 blocks this season, to hold the eighth-highest total in the league. Beverly and Brown have helped the Lions become the top team in the SLC when it comes to blocks. The Lions average 2.29 blocks per set with a total of 183.5 blocks, the best by any team in the conference.
 
Defensively, Lindsey Wickersham has played well at libero for the Lions, notching at least a dozen digs in each of SLU's last seven matches. The New Orleans, La., native tallied 36 digs in SLU's last two wins.
 
McNeese will be looking to get back in the win column after the Cowgirls came up short in the team's last two matches against UIW and HCU. McNeese, who ranks second in the SLC in digs per set, will have Southland digs-per-set leader Sophia Tocmo on the court Thursday. The freshman libero has averaged a league-best 5.00 digs per set. Ava Henry has been the Cowgirls' most accurate hitter, averaging the fifth-best hitting percentage (.328) in the SLC.
 
Nicholls is set to face LSU New Orleans before hosting SLU on Saturday. The Colonels are in the midst of a five-match losing streak, with the team falling in four-set contests against HCU and UIW last week. Nicholls' Madison Smith has been the team's most consistent attacker, averaging the ninth-most kills per set (3.21) and the third-most aces per set (0.38) in the league. Isabella Padilla's 7.11 assists-per-set mark stands at fifth in the SLC.
 
After departing Thibodaux, the Lions will have a two-match week against LSU New Orleans (2-21, 0-10 SLC). SLU's slate will begin on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., when the team hosts the Privateers in the University Center. On Thursday at 6:30 p.m., the Lions will compete at the Human Performance Center in New Orleans, La., to end the season series with LSU New Orleans. Both matches will be televised on ESPN+.
 
Tuesday's home match against the Privateers will be Residential Life Rivalry night at the University Center. Fans are encouraged to represent their hall by wearing their colors and competing to see who brings the loudest energy on campus.
 
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.