Stephen F. Austin
Texas State*
Ladyjacks Take Thriller from Texas State
9/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2006
NACOGDOCHES - Sophomore Lauren Railey does not hold back when it comes to Southland Conference foe, Texas State, setting a career high with 23 kills in Stephen F. Austin's 3-2 defeat of the Bobcats Saturday evening. Her previous career high was 22, which she matched twice, both against Texas State. The win was the Ladyjacks' eighth straight victory, sending their overall record to 13-3 and their SLC mark to 4-0. The Bobcats now sit with a 4-12 overall mark and are 1-2 in SLC action.
At the start of Game 1, the teams exchanged blows until junior Traci Rohde broke a 12-12 tie and SFA gained a 15-12 lead. The Bobcats could only come within two points before the Ladyjacks ran away with the lead after a kill by Railey, stretching the score to 25-22 and sending junior JJ Jones to the service line. Jones would serve the next six points to give SFA its biggest lead of the game, 29-22. Texas State scored two more points before a kill from junior Shelly Swendig gave the Ladyjacks a 30-24 win.
In the second game, SFA had up to an eight-point lead, but the Bobcats came within one on Christina Melvin's service ace to make the score 26-25. Swendig's kill pushed the Ladyjacks up by two, but Lawrencia Brown's kill brought the score to 27-26. The Bobcats then tied things up at 27 on an ace by Jessica Weynand. SFA once again extended its lead to two, 29-27, but an attack error by Rohde and a kill by Texas State's Kelly Fletcher tied the score at 29. After a kill by Railey, senior Lauren Adams had a service ace to give SFA the 31-29 win.
Game 3 had a different outcome as SFA and Texas State tied the game on seven different occasions, but the Ladyjacks could never take a lead. After being tied at 6-6, the Bobcats took the lead and SFA did not catch up until the 19-19 mark. Even though the Ladyjacks tied the game at 29, a bad set by Jones and an attack error by Rohde sent the Bobcats to a 31-29 Game 3 win before forcing a fifth game with a 30-23 win in Game 4.
The Ladyjacks and Bobcats went into the hard-fought deciding game, exchanging points from the get-go. Neither team had more than a one point lead until Swendig and senior Laura Cramer settled the score with two straight kills to take the 15-13 victory.
In addition to her 23 kills, Railey posted 17 digs for her sixth double-double the season. Jones collected 67 assists with 18 digs for her fifth double-double. Swendig had 18 kills and only two errors for a .421 hitting percentage on the night. Rohde and Cramer also had double-digit kills with 12 and 14, respectively. Cramer also collected 14 digs.
Senior Stephanie Figgers, who went into the weekend sixth in the nation for digs in a game, notched 33 digs in the outing and junior Jami Hill collected 12.
The Ladyjacks return to action Tuesday when they travel to Dallas to face SMU. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start from Moody Coliseum.
-SFA-
