Southeastern at Stephen F. Austin Box Score (.html format)
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Three Lady Lions recorded ten or more kills and the Southeastern offense posted a team hitting percentage of .212 (55-24-146), their second-highest mark of 2008, but it wasn't enough to contain Stephen F. Austin (14-3, 5-0 Southland Conference) as the Southeastern Louisiana University women's volleyball (team fell to the Ladyjacks in Nacogdoches, Texas by a final of 3-1 (21-25, 14-25, 29-27, 18-25) on Saturday afternoon.
Both offenses came out firing as Stephen F. Austin went on to post a team-hitting percentage of .348 (60-13-135) and the Lady Lions produced their second most efficient hitting performance since .316 (44-14-95) in a 3-0 win over Southern on Tuesday.
In a hotly-contested first set, the Lady Lions rallied from a 10-4 deficit to tie the set at 13-13. Senior middle blocker LaToya Anthony recorded four of her 16 kills and junior right side hitter Lauren Mayer added three kills as Southeastern battled back. However, Stephen F. Austin pulled away once again before Southeastern used a 5-3 run to pull within two at 23-21. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Lady Lions would get in the opening frame as the Ladjacks went on a 4-0 run to claim a 25-21 win and a 1-0 advantage in the match.
Stephen F. Austin continued that momentum, hitting .400 (16-2-35) as a team in a second set which they never trailed. The Lady Lions saw another four kills from Anthony, however, 18 digs and a pair of blocks from the Ladyjacks kept the Southeastern offense in check as Stephen F. Austin went up 2-0 with a 25-14 win.
Facing a do-or-die third set, the Southeastern offense came out swinging to try to force a fourth frame. Anthony hit .333 (6-2-12) and junior right side hitter Jessica Srajer added five kills as the Lady Lions combined to hit .333 (20-7-39) in the third set, their best offensive performance of the match.
After falling into a7-2 hole early in the third, Southeastern began crawling back. Eventually, the Lady Lions were able to tie the set at 18-18 before taking a 23-22 lead on an ace from Srajer. The Ladyjacks rallied to tie things at 24-24 and took a 27-26 lead in the tiebreaking portion of the set.
Fortunately for Southeastern, a Stephen F. Austin attack error coupled with two more kills from Srajer allowed the Lady Lions to get on the board at 2-1 with a 29-27 win in the third.
Southeastern tried to carry that momentum into the fourth as four Lady Lions recorded multiple kills. However, Stephen F. Austin was in control after jumping out to an 8-2 lead. Southeastern rallied to within three with at 17-14, but an 8-4 Ladyjack run gave Stephen F. Austin the 25-18 win in the fourth set and a 3-1 decision in the match.
Southeastern returns home to host Sam Houston State at the University Center in Hammond on Tuesday. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Admission is free for all fans. Live stats will be available at www.LionSports.net.