Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
Ladyjacks Demolish Demons
11/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Ladyjack volleyball team tallied 15 blocks and Lauren Railey collected her fifth consecutive double-double as SFA routed Northwestern State 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-10) at Johnson Coliseum on Thursday.
SFA (18-6, 9-3 SLC) only got better as the night went on and hit its fourth-best percentage of the year as a team, .354, as it remained alive for a share of its fifth-straight Southland Conference title.
Northwestern State (10-13, 5-8) had won its last three matches, albeit all at home, but never hit over .093 on the night in losing to SFA for the 34th consecutive time.
Coming in it was the Demons that statistically held the edge at the net, leading the SLC in blocks, but just as was the case in Natchitoches on Sept. 29 it was SFA that dominated up front. SFA's 15 blocks is the third-highest single-match block total in the SLC this season, with the only two higher marks each coming in five-set affairs. The Ladyjacks finished with an overall 15-1 advantage at the net, after outblocking the Demons 13-2 in their first meeting.
Lauren Railey shot home five kills in the first set on her way to a 12-kill, 13-dig performance that leaves her only three kills and 11 digs away from becoming the first ever Ladyjack, and only the eighth player in the history of the SLC, to record 1,500 kills and 1,500 digs in a career.
She had plenty of help on the night though as Ashley Bailey, MC Bottles and Kelsey Owens all added eight kills apiece under the direction of Whitney Schott who dished out 37 assists in the sweep.
Bailey finished hitting .500 with only one misfire on the night, but tied a career high with nine blocks. That tally is the highest block three-set block total in the SLC as well this season, and is tied for fourth overall.
However, she was one of five Ladyjacks with at least four blocks including Railey who fell just one block shy of equaling her career high with five. Sydney Milburn got her second consecutive start in the libero jersey and responded with 13 digs.
Overall, SFA drove home 42 kills to only 24 by the Demons despite having 11 fewer attacks. The Ladyjacks only committed eight attack errors on the night, which was a season low.
SFA will close out the home portion of the regular season on Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. first serve set against Central Arkansas. The Ladyjacks will honor its 2008 senior class of Lauren Railey and Shelly Swendig following the match.
-SFA-
