Stephen F. Austin
Mcneese State
Ladyjacks Kick Off Homecoming Weekend With Sweep Of McNeese
10/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 26, 2007
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - In case there were any questions as to who the reigning Southland Conference champion is, the Ladyjacks removed all doubt as they took only 80 minutes to dispose of a red-hot McNeese State team 3-0 (30-14, 30-21, 30-20).
SFA has now won its last 62 matches in SLC play and its last 20 at Johnson Coliseum. A win on Saturday over Lamar would tie the program record of 21 in a row at home.
The Cowgirls (13-12, 7-4) had won their last five matches in a row, including a five-game win over Lamar on Tuesday, but SFA (21-6, 11-0) scored the first eight points of the match before McNeese could ever crack the scoring column. Freshman Whitney Schott, who earned her first start of her career on Friday, dished out five assists in SFA's initial burst and finished the night with a team-high 23 dimes.
The Ladyjacks would hit .486 in the first frame and .283 for the match while McNeese would see its hitting percentage drop progressively from .118 in game one, to -.020 in game three. SFA has held its last four opponents to a .044 hitting percentage overall.
Game two would see McNeese put up more of a fight, but the outside-hitting duo of Lauren Railey and Shelly Swendig found the mark for a combined nine kills in the frame to help keep the Cowgirls at bay. Jami Hill picked up nine of her match-high 23 digs in the frame as well.
McNeese would hold an early lead in the third stanza, but SFA would take the lead for the final time at 12-11 and stretched the lead to its peak on the final point - a Traci Rohde service ace to close things out 30-20.
Rohde was nearly unstoppable offensively on the night, finishing with 13 kills on 28 attacks for a .393 attack percentage. She also moved into fourth place all alone on the SFA all-time list, adding seven blocks to increase her career total to 447.
Freshman Kelsey Owens also got her first career start and responded with eight kills with only a single error on 18 attacks, while Shelly Swendig continued to be efficient with nine kills of her own.
The Ladyjacks continue their quest toward a fourth straight SLC title on Saturday at 7:00 p.m when the East Division leader, Lamar, makes its way to Johnson Coliseum.
-SFA-
