Stephen F. Austin
Troy
Ladyjacks Sweep Way To Tournament Title
8/31/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug 31, 2013
SFA 3, JSU 0 
SFA 3, USM 0
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack volleyball team picked up a pair of sweeps over Jackson State and Southern Miss to close out the weekend and take the championship at the season-opening Southern Miss Invitational at Reed Green Coliseum on Saturday.
“It was a great weekend,” SFA head volleyball coach Debbie Humphreys said. “To win the tournament was a great way to start the season and I couldn’t be more proud of the effort they showed.”
The Ladyjacks (3-0) got all-tournament performances from Jill Ivy, Paige Holland and OJ Olson, who was named tournament MVP.
SFA has now won its season-opening tournament three years in a row.
The Ladyjacks, approaching the midway point in their seven-game road stretch, will enjoy a day of rest, before heading to Louisiana-Monroe for a 2:00 p.m. matchup with the Warhawks on Labor Day.
SFA 3, USM 0
Freshman Kaitlyn Granger and sophomore Jacque Allen recorded double-figure kills in the 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-14) tournament-clinching win over the Golden Eagles (2-1).
Granger recorded 11 kills on 33 swings (.242), while Allen finished with 10 on 25 (.320). Allen also led SFA at the net with seven blocks, while sophomores Olson and Madison Martin recorded 13 digs apiece. Holland dished out 38 assists across the three sets.
Sophomore Tori Bates and Allen each recorded four kills in the opening set. After finding themselves in a 16-16 tie, Granger picked up a kill for SFA on a blocking error from Quinci Harward to retake the lead. The kill was the first of a 9-3 run the Ladyjacks went on down the stretch to take a 1-0 advantage.
The second set proved to be the toughest test of the match for SFA. Despite never relinquishing the lead, USM hit .143, their highest attack percentage in all three sets, and knotted up the score on four separate occasions before falling 25-22.
In the third set SFA shut the door hitting .395, while holding the Golden Eagles to a .057 attack percentage in a 25-14 win to claim the title. Allen finished with four kills and three blocks in the final set.
SFA 3, JSU 0
Allen recorded 10 kills, as SFA picked up its second win of the USM tournament with a 3-0 (25-5, 25-11, 25-16) victory over JSU (0-3).
Allen finished with 10 kills on 13 swings with just one error (.692) to lead the way, while Ivy added six on eight tries (.750) in guiding the Ladyjacks to a .352 attack percentage.
Holland recorded 27 assists and Janet Hill led all players with 9 digs.
The Ladyjacks wasted no time jumping out to 1-0 lead, blasting the Tigers 25-5 behind four service aces from Holland and three kills apiece from Ivy and Justice Walker in the opening set. SFA quickly got out to a 13-0 lead before going on a 12-5 run the rest of the way.
The Ladyjacks got five kills from Allen in the second set and held JSU to a .097 attack percentage, their only positive percentage in the match. After being tied 4-4, the Ladyjacks tripled the Tigers offensive output going on a 21-7 run to take a 2-0 lead.
The third and final set was the closest between the two schools, as SFA rallied from down 4-0 to win by nine.
-SFA-
