Stephen F. Austin
Abilene Christian
SFA Sweeps ACU to Extend Unbeaten Streak
10/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s volleyball team defeated Abilene Christian in straight sets (29-27, 25-16, 25-18) on Saturday afternoon in Shelton Gym to remain perfect in the Southland Conference. The Ladyjacks have won nine of their last 11 matches and haven’t dropped a set in conference play this year.
SFA (11-7, 4-0 SLC) holds a perfect 12-0 set advantage over its first four conference matches this year. The last time the Ladyjacks went 4-0 without losing a set in the SLC was in 2007 – a year in which the team finished 15-1 in the conference.
“We knew we were going to have our hands full today,” said head coach Debbie Humphreys. “We expected it to be a battle. I like how when we’re in tight matches our players are just staying very relaxed and very confident. We aren’t going into panic mode. We are just very confident in what we are capable of doing.”
The Ladyjacks were locked in a battle with the Wildcats (2-15, 0-4 SLC) in the opening set, matching up point for point down the stretch. SFA fought off an ACU set point and had four such opportunities itself before clinching the first set 29-27.
Senior Jill Ivy had eight kills in the opening frame and finished the afternoon with a match-high 18 kills. She had three errors in 37 attacks for a .405 attack percentage, helping the Ladyjacks post a .339 hitting percentage as a team.
Junior Jacque Allen was another big reason SFA enjoyed such a high attack percentage in the match. The Mansfield, Texas native had 10 kills and one error on 14 attempts for a healthy .643 mark. She also contributed three blocks on the other side of the ball.
Juniors Madison Martin and OJ Olson led the defense with nine digs apiece, while Ivy contributed eight.
Senior Paige Holland finished the day with 39 assists for SFA to lead all players in the match.
The Ladyjacks separated themselves late in set two to pull away for a 25-16 win and broke the third set open early to cruise to a 25-18 decision.
SFA will hit the road next week for two conference matches. The team will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7:00 p.m. before making the trip to Houston for a match against Houston Baptist on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 1:00 p.m.
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