Stephen F. Austin
UT Arlington
SFA Sweeps Way To Tournament Title
8/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 25, 2012
Savannah State Box Score | UT Arlington Box Score
ARLINGTON, Texas -The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks picked up a pair of sweeps over Savannah State and UT Arlington to close out the weekend and take the championship at the season-opening UTA/Hilton Invitational at the College Park Center on Saturday.
In the process, senior libero Madison Hanlan moved into second place all-time at SFA (3-0) in digs, doing so with an 18-dig performance in the tournament finale vs UTA.
Hanlan and Sabrina Burns were each named to the all-tournament team at the conclusion of the event.
"It was a solid start to the season," SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys said. "The UTA match was extremely intense and I'm proud of how the girls responded. We need to learn how to play with that intensity every match.
"This is a great starting point for the season. I expect this group to improve significantly as we move forward."
The Ladyjacks return home on Tuesday for its home opener at Shelton Gym vs ULM before going on the road to Grand Forks, N.D., to take part in the North Dakota Tournament.
SFA 3, UT Arlington 0
Madison Hanlanmoved into second place all-time at SFA in digs as the Ladyjacks swept by former Southland Conference rival UT Arlington 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 29-27) in the tournament finale of the UTA/Hilton Invitational.
Hanlan finished with 18 digs in the three sets, giving her 1,636 for her career as she averaged 5.3 digs per set for the weekend. The Ladyjacks hit .202 for the match and Jill Ivywas the only player to reach double figures in kills, but the SFA had five players with at least six kills and did a number defensively on the Mavs, holding them to just .081 hitting in the three sets.
SFA finished with 14 blocks in the three-set affair, led by four from Sabrina Burns and three apiece from Jacque Allen and Tori Bates. Paige Holland finished a very nice match with 36 assists and six kills, while Bates and Janet Hilljoined Hanlan in double-figure digs with 11 and 10 apiece, respectively.
For the second time on the day SFA jumped out to a 1-0 lead, hitting just .118 for the set, but by forcing 11 UTA attack errors. Burns had three kills in the set and had a hand in four of SFA's final five points with two of her three kills in the set and a pair of blocks.
One set later the Ladyjacks caught fire offensively, swinging at a .382 clip with 17 of its points coming via kill. The Ladyjacks got three kills from Ivy in the set and used a 13-2 run to close out the frame.
The Ladyjacks then had to work to close out the match in the third set, falling behind 22-20 late in the stanza and fought off a set-point try for the Mavs before turning the tables on UTA. It took SFA four tries to convert it's own match-point attempt, but finally did it on a kill from Bates and a UTA misfire.
SFA 3, Savannah State 0
Freshman Tori Bates scored 12 kills and Paige Hollandput together the first Ladyjack double-double of the season as Stephen F. Austin picked up its second win of the UTA/Hilton Invitational with a 3-0 (25-7, 25-15, 25-11) victory over Savannah State.
Bates finished with 12 kills on 46 swings with just two errors (.476) to lead the way, while Holland had 26 assists and 11 digs in guiding SFA (2-0) to a solid .267 attack percentage for the match. Defensively controlled things as well, allowing the Tigers (0-2) just 13 kills for the match and a -.092 attack percentage. It is the first time since Sept. 8, 2007 vs ULM that SFA has held a team to a negative attack percentage
Madison Hanlan led all players with 14 digs and Jacque Allenadded three blocks for the Ladyjacks.
The Ladyjacks wasted no time jumping out to a 1-0 lead, blasting the Tigers 25-7 in the first set behind four kills from Keeley Kainer. SFA hit a solid .222 for the set, but held Savannah State to just one kill and a -.200 attack percentage. SFA stretched it out with a 10-3 run mid way through the set to push its lead to a comfortable margin at 19-7 before scoring the final six points of the frame.
SFA got six kills from Tori Batesin the second set on its way to hitting .259 and holding the Tigers to a negative hitting percentage again. Savannah State put together a mini run midway through the set to cut the lead to 19-15, but once again the Ladyjacks responded with a 6-0 spurt to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
The third and final set mimicked the first as the Ladyjacks scored 15 of the set's first 18 points and cruised to the win.
-SFA-
