Stephen F. Austin
New Orleans
SFA Opens Radisson Invitational With Win Over New Orleans
9/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 5, 2008
DALLAS, Texas - In the first match of the SMU Radisson Invitational, the Ladyjack volleyball team rallied after dropping the first set of the match to take a 3-1 (19-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-23) win over previously unbeaten New Orleans.
The Privateers (3-1) had come straight to Dallas after winning the Auburn Invitational last weekend, avoiding the city of New Orleans after the effects of Hurricane Gustav.
Debbie Humphreys shuffled around her lineup before the match and got standout performances not only from her upper-classmen, but also from freshmen Melissa Miksch and Amber Williams Roberts. Miksch never left the court, finishing with 16 assists, nine digs and seven kills on 18 attacks without a single error. Williams-Roberts knocked home 10 kills on 24 attacks with only three errors off the bench for the Ladyjacks (2-2).
Laurel Kuepker also responded with 25 digs at the libero spot, only seven away from her career high of 32.
After dropping the first set to the Privateers, SFA responded with a 25-19 win in set two behind three kills and a pair of aces from Railey, the second coming for the final point of the set after it deflected off the Moody Coliseum scoreboard and fell harmlessly to the hardwood. SFA rarely hurt itself in the second stanza, hitting at a .370 clip with only two errors on 27 attacks.
SFA notched the third set by a seven-point cushion after grabbing the lead at 11-10 and not giving it back to UNO. Once again it was Railey hammering home the set's final point, rejecting a Lindsey Lloyd shot for her second block of the game.
The third set saw SFA primarily in catch-up mode with the Privateers using their size to their advantage, to open up an early 12-6 lead before the Ladyjacks began to claw back. Eventually it was a bad set by UNO's Jaci Bayley that gave SFA its first lead at 19-18, and Railey responded with two more of her match-high 13 kills and a block in the final six points before Shelly Swendig found the mark for the match's final point.
SFA will not get to rest long as they will take on Big Sky foe Montana at 5 p.m. from Moody Coliseum. That match can be followed via Gametracker.
-SFA-
