Stephen F. Austin
Oral Roberts
Ladyjacks Fall Short In Tulsa
10/3/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 3, 2013
ORU 3, SFA 2 
TULSA, Okla. – Junior Jill Ivy recorded 19 kills, but the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack volleyball team fell 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 13-15) to Oral Roberts Thursday night in the Kenneth H. Cooper Aerobics Center.
The loss is the third consecutive for SFA (10-7, 2-2 SLC), as head volleyball coach Sheera Sirola picked up her 200th career win for the Golden Eagles (13-3, 5-0 SLC).
Ivy led an offensive attack that swung a .182 clip across five sets. The Katy, Texas, native, was joined by freshmen Justice Walker and Jacque Allen in the double-figure kills column. Walker finished with 12 kills, while Allen recorded 11. Senior Leslie Jackson finished with nine kills in the loss.
Setters Shannon Connell and Paige Holland shared the workload, each appearing in all five sets. Connell finished with 30 assists and Holland added 23. Sophomore OJ Olson led the back line, recording 21 digs. Olson was aided by fellow sophomore Tori Bates, who recorded 14 digs on the night.
Allen (7), Ivy (6) and Walker (6), each recorded six block assists or more to highlight a Ladyjack defense that finished with 16 blocks as a team.
After falling 25-16 in the opening set, SFA answered with a 25-22 victory in the second set to even the match 1-1 heading into the break. The momentum continued for the Ladyjacks in the third set, hitting a .321 mark. SFA, after breaking a 1-1 tie early on, never trailed the rest of the way as they took the third set 25-21 to move ahead 2-1.
Following a 6-6 break point in the fourth set, ORU went on a 12-8 run to take an 18-14 lead. The Ladyjacks capitalized on a kill from Allen and consecutive attack errors from the Golden Eagles to pull within one at 18-17, before ORU went on a 7-6 run to edge SFA 25-23 to force a fifth and deciding set.
Both teams would exchange leads, before a pair of attack errors broke a 13-13 tie and sealed the victory for the Golden Eagles.
The Ladyjacks will look to right the ship, when they travel to Central Arkansas for a 12:00 p.m. match Oct. 5 in Conway, Ark.
-SFA-
