HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team won the first match of its two-match week against LSU New Orleans, earning a three-set sweep, 25-14, 25-12, 25-19, in the University Center Tuesday.
In a quest for first place in the Southland Conference, Southeastern (14-12, 11-2 SLC) put together one of the team's best performances of the season in Tuesday's sweep of the Privateers (3-23, 1-12 SLC). After the Privateers claimed a 3-2 lead to start the match, the Lions took the lead and never gave it back.
Reigning SLC Offensive Player of the Week,
Kyra McKelvey, continued her run with another team-leading performance of nine kills.
Abigail Bailey finished second on the team with eight kills. Reigning SLC Setter of the Week,
Ashley Richardson, paced all players on Tuesday night with 32 assists. Richardson also chipped in seven kills with a match-best .571 attack percentage.
Melina Gonzalez served a trio of aces to post a match-best mark.
Defensively, McKelvey and
Keira Beverly had the most blocks in the match, totaling six each through three sets. McKelvey has tallied 31 blocks in her last six matches. After notching six blocks on Tuesday, Beverly holds the top spot among the Lions with 81 total blocks in 2026.
Lindsey Wickersham's 16 digs were a match-high, giving her 10 straight matches with double-digit digs.
For the visiting Privateers, Armie Hall was the only player with double-digit kills, finishing the night with 11. Setters Rylie Hallman (11) and Defne Eciroglu (10) each notched assists in double figures. Vladana Ristic paced LSU New Orleans with 13 digs in Tuesday's loss. Nyakuak Lual's three blocks were a team-high.
LSU New Orleans gained a brief lead in the early going of the first set, 3-2. SLU strung together a 4-0 run with points from Beverly, Gonzalez, and McKelvey, 6-3. After pulling ahead by five, 13-8, the Lions extended their lead with a six-point run, 19-8. From there, the home team kept the ball rolling and won the opening set by double figures.
Southeastern's momentum continued into the second set, when SLU started off with an 11-2 advantage. The Lions' largest lead of the night was seen in the second set, when the home team took a 15-point edge, 19-4. Southeastern kept it going from that point, winning the set with a block by McKelvey and
Ainsley Driska, along with an ace from
Kaelyn Sharp.
The Privateers got back on course on the third set, remaining within one point, 10-9. The Lions kept things out of reach, however, stretching their lead to five with kills from McKelvey and Beverly, 21-16. After that, Southeastern captured its 11
th win in conference play and its fourth sweep of the season.
Southeastern will face LSU New Orleans (3-23, 1-12 SLC) once more on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Lions will head to the Human Performance Center in New Orleans, La., for the team's final road contest of the regular season. 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.
