Stephen F. Austin
Mcneese State
Cowgirls Surprise Ladyjacks, Pull Off Upset
11/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 12, 2008
LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Ladyjack volleyball team ran into a road block heading east on I-10 on Wednesday as McNeese State used 17 blocks to hand SFA it's second consecutive conference loss, 3-1 (25-21, 25-10, 22-25, 26-24) at Memorial Gym.
It is the first time McNeese State (10-16, 6-8) has beaten SFA (18-8, 9-5) since the 2003 season, which incidentally is the last time SFA has lost consecutive conference matches on multiple occasions.
The Ladyjacks hurt themselves the majority of the night, committing 34 attack errors to only 13 by the Cowgirls in the four-set match. SFA won the kills battle 52-47, but McNeese outblocked the Ladyjacks 17-6 led by nine block assists from Nicole Bowden.
Lauren Railey was a bright spot once again for SFA, picking up her seventh consecutive double-double. She was the only Ladyjack in double-figures on the night with 19 kills. Laurel Kuepker led SFA with 17 digs, while MC Bottles led the Ladyjacks with five blocks.
SFA hit only .094 and -.114 in the first two sets as McNeese took a commanding 2-0 lead into the locker room; however, the Ladyjack responded behind six kills from Railey and three apiece from Arielle Daron and Sydney Ellis to get back into the match with a win in the third set. It looked as though SFA would force a deciding set as well as it held onto a slim lead in the fourth set until the Cowgirls finally claimed the lead 23-22 after consecutive attack errors by SFA. Then with the score knotted at 24, McNeese got kills from Alyson Jones and Chanel Tyler to close out the match.
The Ladyjacks get little time to rest as they hit the court once again in Hammond, La., on Thursday with a 7:00 p.m. match set against Southeastern Louisiana. SFA knocked off the Lions 3-1 on Oct. 11.
-SFA-
