Stephen F. Austin
Miami (Oh)
Ladyjacks Clip Redhawks For Tourney Title
9/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Sophomore Mary Caitlin Bottles was named MVP of the Ladyjack Invitational sponsored by The Grove and SFA took the tournament title with a 3-1 (27-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-22) win over Miami (OH) at Johnson Coliseum.
The Ladyjacks (11-5) are currently riding their longest win streak of the season at six straight victories dating back to last weekend at the Tulsa Invitational. The win was SFA's first ever over the Redhawks (5-7), evening the score after Miami knocked off the Ladyjacks at their own tournament in Ohio.
Bottles and Ashley Bailey were both named to the all-tournament team in addition to Melissa Miksch, and each showed why in Saturday's intense finale. Bailey led all Ladyjacks once again with 15 kills and four blocks and Bottles added 12 kills and four blocks as well. Miksch did not make it into double-figures on the offensive side, but she was a valuable asset defensively as she kept alive 18 digs on a night where SFA's defensive prowess was tested.
One match after setter Paloma Buckner set a career high in blocks, she did so in assists with 49 and directed the offense to .210 hitting as a team. Kelsey Owens turned out to be one of her favorite targets on the night as well as she managed 10 kills on 34 tries in just her second match back from an injury.
It looked as though the Ladyjacks might be able to sweep their way to the tournament title as they fought their way to a 2-0 halftime lead with a pair of close wins in the first two sets.
Neither team could manage to build much of a lead in the first set, but five kills apiece from both Bailey and Bottles was enough to get the Ladyjacks the early lead. Bottles landed a kill from Buckner to give SFA a 23-20 lead late, but the Redhawks got a pair of kills and some help from two Ladyjack errors to draw even at 24-24 and a consecutive kills from Bailey and Bottles gave SFA the win.
The second set saw SFA overcome a poor offensive set to snatch the commanding lead, holding Miami to .044 hitting in the set. The Laydjacks never trailed in the set, building its lead to its peak at 20-15 on an attack error by Miami's Michelle Metzler. Bottles and Buckner then got SFA to the brink of the win with a block of Jenn Caylor just before Owens slammed home a kill to send SFA into the half.
The Redhawks built an early lead in the third set at 17-12, but still had to fend off the Ladyjacks to extend the match. SFA put together an 8-3 spurt to knot things up late in the set at 19 apiece behind serves from Madison Hanlan and Amber Williams-Roberts, but Miami's Maria Leahy scored one of her seven kills in the set to give the Redhawks' a lead they would not give back as they finished by swinging .371 for the set.
It looked as though the match might be going the full five sets midway through the fourth set as the Redhawks held a three-point lead at 18-15 on a kill from Cassie Farrell. But that is when the Ladyjacks put together its final rally of the night, quickly tying it up at 18 apiece on consecutive kills from Owens and a bad set from Caylor. One play later Bailey gave SFA its first lead of the set as the Ladyjacks used a 10-4 run to close out the win and take the tournament's title.
SFA has one more non-conference tilt remaining on its schedule on Tuesday at North Texas before Southland play begins next week with home matches against Central Arkansas and Northwestern State.
-SFA-
