Stephen F. Austin
Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Defense Carries Ladyjacks Past Islanders
10/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 12, 2009
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Ladyjack volleyball team pushed head coach Debbie Humphreys to the edge of a milestone on Monday, leaving Humphreys just one win short of 500 career wins with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-18) win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
It was the second win of the season for SFA (15-9, 4-2 Southland) over TAMUCC (7-14, 0-6 Southland) as the Ladyjacks picked up a 3-0 win over the Islanders earlier this season at the Ladyjack Invitational.
Amber Williams-Roberts delivered a team-high 10 kills and six blocks as SFA hit .270 for the match, the highest SFA has hit in 12 matches. TAMUCC only managed to hit .068 for the match, inlcuidng Emma Ridley hitting -.041 after coming in as one of the top attackers in the SLC.
Ashley Bailey only delivered four kills on the night, but her defense was stellar as she totaled 10 blocks in only three sets - a career high and the highest single-match block total of any player in the Southland this season. No other player in the SLC has had more than seven blocks in a three-set match.
Paloma Buckner added 30 assists and four service aces and Madison Hanlan had 16 digs in an overall balanced effort across the board for the Ladyjacks.
Two Buckner service aces and four Islander miscues made up a 6-0 start for the Ladyjacks, but the Islanders went to Ridley for four kills and were able to slice the lead down to 15-13. However, SFA then found Williams-Roberts for three straight points and Ridley helped out the Ladyjacks with a pair of errors to get the lead back to six at 21-15. Both teams then traded blows with the Ladyjacks maintaining a comfortable margin, going up 1-0 on a kill by Buckner.
The second set held no different result for TAMUCC as SFA used a 4-0 run early on behind Kelsey Owens' serve to take a 9-6 lead it would not give back. One point later SFA got another four-point spurt behind kills from Mary Caitlin Bottles, Arielle Daron and Buckner for a 13-7 lead. It never got any closer for TAMUCC, as SFA outscored the Islanders 12-7 the rest of the way, hitting .241 as it hit the midway point in front 2-0.
In the third SFA certainly had to work, not taking the lead until a three-point run that gave it a 12-9 advantage. Daron then scored three of the next seven Ladyjack points with kills and the Ladyjacks closed out its .368 hitting in the frame with a pair of Williams-Roberts kills to end the match on a 5-1 run.
Humphreys will have the chance now to win her 500th career match in Nacogdoches when SFA hosts UTSA on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
-SFA-
