Stephen F. Austin
Arkansas State
SFA Wins Two At Rice Invitational
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 17, 2010
Samford Box Score
Arkansas State Box Score
HOUSTON, Texas - The Ladyjack volleyball team won its second and third matches in a row on Friday, using a strong defensive performance for a 3-1 win over Samford in the morning session before getting plenty of offense in a 3-0 sweep of Arkansas State in the late session of the first day of the Rice Invitational at Tudor Fieldhouse.
The three-game win streak is the longest of the young season for SFA and evens its record at 7-7 on the year with only one non-conference match remaining on the schedule.
In the first match of the day Sabrina Burns rejected 11 shots, the most by a Ladyjack since 2007, and added seven kills without an error as SFA rode an early 2-0 advantage to a 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 25-19) over Samford (6-6).
Four of Burns' 11 blocks came in the final set, including when she and Leslie Jackson teamed up to reject Allie Bettinger shot for the final point of the match. Along with Burns' defense, MC Bottles and Allison Gideon headed up the offense with 10 kills apiece. Gideon flirted with a triple-double for the second time in a week, hitting .350 and falling just two digs short of the mark.
Madison Hanlan and Monica Pannone headed up the back row with 14 and 11 digs apiece, respectively.
The teams both started slow out of the gate in the early-morning hours, combining for 17 attack errors in the first set alone. But SFA was able to take advantage of the Bulldogs' errors and took the win behind four blocks and three kills from Burns.
The second set was nearly the polar opposite with both teams hitting over .300. Samford was in position to even the match at one apiece before a 5-0 SFA run turned a 21-18 deficit into a 23-18 lead. A Bulldog error set the Ladyjacks up to take the set, and Bottles delivered a kill for the final point.
Samford erased an early 7-2 lead in the third set and outkilled the Ladyjacks 14-6 to cut into the lead; however, SFA was able to return the favor one set later behind three Bottles' kills and five team blocks that helped hold the Bulldogs to -.083 hitting.
In the second match Arkansas State(5-6) got 17 kills from Cayla Fielder, but SFA swung .295 as a team, led by a 13-kill, 12-dig double-double from Miksch. The junior swung .357 in the match, but was at her best in the second set whenever she landed nine of her 13 kills.
Owens had 10 kills and Burns had four more blocks, three of which came in the first frame, to help SFA earn just its second sweep of the year.
The teams swung at a near even clip in the first set, but it was SFA that had to put together a late comeback. The Ladyjacks scored the last five points of the set, including staving off three set-point tries by the Red Wolves beginning at 24-21. But Owens delivered two kills and SFA forced three ASU misplays in the Ladyjacks taking an early 1-0 lead.
In the second it was Miksch that provided the offensive spark with nine kills, helping SFA hit at a .400 clip as a team. Hanlan had half of her team-best 16 digs in the second as well and Gideon had four kills in the nine-point decision.
The third set was close throughout, but it was ASU that held a late lead at 22-20 before SFA went on another late run. Kills from Leslie Jackson and Gideon sparked the late rally before the defense forced three straight miscues from the Red Wolves to end things.
SFA closes out the Rice Invitational and non-conference play on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against Rice.
-SFA-
