Stephen F. Austin
Houston Baptist
Holland Reaches Milestone in SFA Sweep
10/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON, Texas – Paige Holland etched her name in the SFA record books, Jill Ivy posted another double-double, and the Stephen F. Austin women’s volleyball team completed the 3-0 sweep (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) of Houston Baptist on Saturday afternoon in Sharp Gym.
Entering Saturday’s match with 3,998 career assists, it didn’t take long for Holland to surpass the milestone mark of 4,000. The senior setter dished one up to Ivy early in the first set, who proceeded to complete the kill. Holland becomes just the fifth player in SFA history to reach 4,000 career assists.
“Certainly it’s a great accomplishment,” head coach Debbie Humphreys said. “It just speaks to the caliber of player that she has been throughout her entire career.”
After recording 41 distributions on the afternoon, Holland currently sits at 4,039 assists over her four years with the program.
Ivy, who has also been red hot offensively for the Ladyjacks (13-7, 6-0 SLC), put up her second double-double in as many matches and fifth overall this season with a 16-kill, 11-dig performance. She fired at a .452 clip and chipped in four blocks on the other side of the ball. The senior finishes the week with 36 kills on .470 hitting and 28 digs.
Junior Tori Bates and sophomore Justice Walker each notched 11 kills on the day to help SFA post 54 kills while swinging at a .295 mark.
Junior OJ Olson had a match-high 14 digs for SFA and Walker, like Ivy, rejected four balls at the net to lead the defensive effort.
Trailing 15-12 in the first set, the Ladyjacks came out of a Humphreys timeout firing on all cylinders. Ivy came alive with five kills, and a huge solo block from Holland highlighted a 13-5 SFA run to end the period and give the Ladyjacks the 25-20 win.
The second set was played within a three-point window with 13 ties and four lead changes. The difference was the performance from Bates, who compiled eight kills in the frame. Just as in the first set, the Ladyjacks separated themselves late. An Ivy service ace capped a 25-23 win to give SFA the 2-0 cushion at the break.
The Ladyjacks took control of the third set early and never trailed en route to a 25-18 win. The final seven-point margin was SFA’s largest lead of the period.
The sweep of HBU (7-12, 2-3 SLC) marks the fifth, straight-set conference victory for SFA this season. The Ladyjacks have won 18 of 19 sets in the SLC after three weeks of action.
The Ladyjacks will return to Shelton Gym next week to start a six-match home stretch. SFA will play Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. and then host New Orleans on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
“I think what’s really important for us this week is just to get our legs back under us to put us physically in a spot where we can perform at a high level,” Humphreys said. “We played well today but you could tell we were a little bit tired. That happens over the course of a season and managing our reps and managing our physical well being is really important for us right now.”
-SFA-
