Stephen F. Austin
Alabama - First Round
Rohde, Swendig lead SFA past Alabama, 3-2
12/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 1, 2006
AUSTIN - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack volleyball team is headed into the second round of the NCAA tournament after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide, 3-2, Friday evening at Gregory Gymnasium on the University of Texas campus in Austin. It is the first time since 1989 that a Southland Conference member has recorded a victory in the first round of the NCAA postseason.
The Ladyjacks jumped out to a 4-0 lead and didn't let the Tide within two until the 13-11 mark. Alabama then fought back to tie it up at 17 before SFA called a timeout. The Tide then took their first lead of the game at 18-17 on a Ladyjack blocking error. The teams would then exchange points and the lead until SFA jumped out to a three point lead at the 23-20 mark. After a Briana Taylor kill to make the score 25-22, the Tide cut the lead to two before SFA scored five straight to take the 30-24 Game 1 win.
In Game 2, SFA didn't have as strong an outing, falling 30-23, and fell behind 2-1 after giving up the 30-25 win to Alabama. However, coming back from the break, SFA fought back taking a five point lead at the 7-2 mark. SFA held the lead until the Tide knotted the game at 14. Although SFA took the first lead from the tie with a Laura Cramer kill, Alabama managed to sneak in to tie it at 16 and take the lead, 17-16, its first lead of the game. But two points later, SFA was back in the lead after a Tide attacking error. The Ladyjacks then went on a 7-0 run, giving them a 24-17 lead. Alabama scored three straight points to get back within four, but at the 25-22 mark, the Ladyjacks scored five straight to take the 30-22 win.
In the final set, the Ladyjacks jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead, but the Tied rallied back, scoring four straight to make the score 8-6 and forcing SFA to call a timeout. Coming off the break, the Ladyjacks scored the first point and then gave up the next point to move the score to 9-7. The teams then exchanged every two points after, with SFA being the first to reach 15 and taking Game 5, 15-11.
Rohde and Shelly Swendig led the Ladyjacks offense with 18 and 17 kills, respectively. Rohde only had three errors in 42 attempts to hit .357 in the match, the highest on both sides.
Stephanie Figgers finished the match with 34 digs, the 11th time she's recorded more than 30 digs in a match this season. Jones had 49 assists in the outing.
The Ladyjacks' 26th straight win sent their overall record to 31-3 while Alabama fell to 17-13 to conclude its season.
SFA will face the winner of the Texas-Prairie View A&M match Saturday night at 6:30 from Gregory Gymnasium in Austin.
-SFA-
