Stephen F. Austin
Sam Houston State
SFA Completes Dramatic Comeback Over SHSU
10/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women's volleyball team pulled off the comeback of the season on Thursday night, roaring back from a two-set deficit to beat rival Sam Houston State 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-11, 15-12) in Shelton Gym. The Ladyjacks improve to 10-0 in the Southland Conference with the win and are now tied for first place with Central Arkansas.
The 10-match winning streak is the longest in SLC play for SFA since the team ran the table (16-0) in 2006.
The Bearkats (12-9, 5-3 SLC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the match but the Ladyjacks (17-7, 10-0 SLC) came back in a huge way after the break.
SFA went out firing on both sides of the ball and won the next two sets 25-16 and 25-11 to force a decisive fifth set. With junior Tori Bates on the service line in the final frame, the Ladyjacks went on a 5-0 run to go up 13-9. SFA later used a thundering kill from junior Jacque Allen on set point to close out the five-set victory.
"If we've had an intense match this year, that was it," said head coach Debbie Humphreys. "I was extremely pleased with how we came back tonight. We were able to make some adjustments and all of a sudden our block really kicked in for the final three sets."
That block turned out to be a big reason for the extreme turnaround for SFA after halftime. Big blocks, excellent digs and tough service pressure helped the Ladyjacks limit the Bearkats to negative hitting over the final two sets while SFA hit .370 and .182 over the same span.
Allen finished with a season-high 11 total blocks to lead SFA to 17 rejections - a team-best for the year. Junior OJ Olson had a standout night on the back line, digging 28 balls to keep point after point alive for the Ladyjacks. Freshman Lexus Cain and junior Madison Martin also had big nights defensively, combining for 22 digs.
SFA got another balanced attack on the offensive side of the net with Allen recording 13 kills, sophomore Justice Walker posting 11 and senior Jill Ivy slamming down 10 winners on the evening. Senior Paige Holland, junior Keeley Kainer and Bates each chipped in six kills.
Holland once again had a terrific night for the Ladyjacks, distributing 44 assists to help her team climb out of a two-set hole for the second time in front of the home fans this year.
"The crowd was awesome tonight," Humphreys said. "The crowds have been awesome this entire season. Certainly if it's Sam Houston people are going to come out. But the crowed stayed in it and our girls in the third set really gave them something to cheer about. I was glad they stayed through the whole thing because it was a big boost for us. It helped keep the momentum on our side of the net."
The Ladyjacks return to their home court in Shelton Gym on Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m. to face the Lady Cardinals of Lamar in another big conference match.
-SFA-
