HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team earned its fourth straight win and pulled ahead in the race for the Southland Conference Regular Season Championship with a four-set win over Stephen F. Austin, 25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-15, at the University Center Thursday.
In a battle between the top teams in the SLC, the Lions (16-12, 13-2 SLC) put together one of their best performances of the season against SFA (18-10, 12-3 SLC). Southeastern shined offensively and defensively, with seven student-athletes reaching double figures.
The SLC's total kills leader,
Kyra McKelvey, recorded a match-best 16 kills in the win.
Abigail Bailey tied her career-high with 15 kills, posting a career-best .412 hitting percentage.
Carissa Young notched her second double-digit performance of the season with 10 kills.
Ainsley Driska put together an errorless match with seven kills and a match-best .778 hitting percentage.
Ashley Richardson led all players with 32 assists, while
Brea Payne tallied 19 assists.
On the defensive side, four SLU student-athletes collected digs in double figures.
Lindsey Wickersham paced the match with 21, while
Melina Gonzalez (17), Richardson (15), and Bailey (11) reached the double-digit mark. The sophomore Bailey earned the first double-double of her collegiate career, while Richardson recorded her 12
th double-double of the season. SLU ended the night with 13 blocks as a team.
Gracie Brown led all Lions with five, with Driska and
Keira Beverly notching three each. McKelvey, Bailey, Young, and Gonzalez each recorded a pair of blocks.
Stephen F. Austin's Caroline Kahle was the sole Ladyjack with double-digit kills (12). Setters Izzy Orton (20) and Madi Zorn (15) collected assists in double figures. Cambry Saul and Kahle ended the match with 16 and 13 digs, respectively. Lara Gilardi and Molly Cravens paced all players in the match with six blocks each.
The visitors took a 9-3 lead to start the match, but five straight SLU points forced a timeout by SFA, 9-8. After the Ladyjacks took a two-point edge, a six-point run by SLU pushed the home team ahead by four, 17-13. SFA made things interesting with a 23-23 tie, but a McKelvey kill and a Ladyjacks error put the Lions ahead, 1-0.
Southeastern rolled its momentum into the second set, preventing the visitors from taking a lead until the late points of the set, 18-17. After SFA found its footing, the Ladyjacks evened the score with a five-point win in the second frame.
SLU got its groove back in the third set, taking a 7-2 advantage in the early points. SFA cut the lead to four, 8-4, but a 5-0 rally by the Lions extended the lead to nine, 13-4. The Ladyjacks climbed back into the set, forcing a 20-20 tie. A 5-1 run by the Lions gave the team its second set of the night.
The fourth set had the home team written all over it, with SLU taking a 2-1 edge, then shutting out the visitors from there. With SLU ahead by two, 15-13, the team went on a 10-2 run to win the match.
With SLU just a win away from clinching a share of the team's third SLC Regular Season Championship in the last four seasons, Southeastern will host Lamar (10-18, 7-8 SLC) in the regular-season finale on Saturday at 12 p.m. in the University Center. The match will be televised on ESPN+.
SLU's regular-season finale match will be Senior Day. Southeastern will be celebrating its six seniors, Driska, Young,
Mina Petrovic, McKelvey, Wickersham, and Beverly before Saturday's match.
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.
