Stephen F. Austin
Western Carolina
Ladyjacks Kick Off Season With Sweep Of Catamounts
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 29, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. - It only took one match for the Ladyjack volleyball team to get in the win column as Shelly Swendig turned in an opening day double-double in a sweep of Western Carolina 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-18) on the campus of the University of Kentucky.
The match was the first ever against Western Carolina for SFA and the win gives SFA six season-opening wins in the last eight years.
Things were never in doubt as the Ladyjacks easily won the race to 25 in the first set, hitting at a .286 clip for the frame. SFA finally opened things up in the set behind the serve of sophomore libero Laurel Kuepker, using two kills by Lauren Railey in a seven-point run to open up an 18-11 lead. The Catamounts answered with three kills of their own from three different players, but Arielle Daron was there for the Ladyjacks on the next two points, teaming up with Railey and then setter Whitney Schott for back-to-back blocks. Overall, SFA tallied six of the final seven points in the frame to close things out.
SFA still managed to pull out the win in the second set, despite its lowest hitting .170 - its lowest percentage for the match. Four attack errors on the Ladyjacks in the first 11 points gave WCU an early 7-5 lead, but Daron had her hand in three consecutive points with two kills and a block before Railey dropped in two straight aces to give SFA a 10-7 lead it would not relinquish. WCU got as close as two at 21-19, but Ashley Bailey and Kelsey Owens sandwiched kills around a pair of Catamount errors to give SFA a comfortable 2-0 lead heading into the break.
The Ladyjacks never trailed in the third set, once again opening it up midway through the stanza. Schott dished out eight of her match-high 32 assists in the third set, finding five separate Ladyjacks for kills. Railey served out three consecutive points to put WCU at arm's length at 17-13. Swendig and Bailey combined three times at the net for blocks, including a fifth-straight point behind Schott's serve that gave SFA it's biggest lead of the frame at 23-16. The pair also did the damage for the final two points of the match, with Bailey driving home a kill to give SFA a match point opportunity that Swendig capitalized on with her 10th kill of the night.
Swendig and Bailey each finished with 10 kills apiece, with the two combining for only four errors on 43 attempts. Bailey led the squad with five blocks on the match also, including a block solo, with Swendig and Daron not far behind with four apiece. Schott's 32 assists were just one shy of her career high.
For the match, the Ladyjacks hit at a .229 clip as opposed to a .103 clip by the Catamounts. SFA also out blocked WCU 10-4.
SFA now travels to Oxford, Ohio, to take part in the Best Western Classic on Saturday. The Ladyjacks take on Saint Louis at 1:30 p.m. CDT and the host Miami (OH) Redhawks at 6:00 p.m. CDT. All games can be followed via Gametracker at www.sfajacks.com, or www.muredhawks.com.
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