Stephen F. Austin
Texas Southern
SFA Splits Matches To Open Rice Invitational II
9/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
HOUSTON, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women’s volleyball team split two matches on the opening day of the Rice Invitational II, defeating Texas Southern (25-13, 25-14, 25-21) and falling to Louisville (25-17, 25-19, 25-22) inside Tudor Fieldhouse on Friday afternoon.
Senior Jill Ivy and freshman Kelsi Bartlett paced the offensive attack with 19 kills apiece over the two matches with senior Paige Holland distributing 65 assists. Junior libero OJ Olson led the defensive effort with 27 digs across the six sets played on Friday. Sophomore Justice Walker, who also chipped in 17 kills, had a hand in four blocks to lead the team in the middle.
The Ladyjacks, winners of five of their last six matches, will play host Rice on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. to close out the tournament.
SFA 3, TSU 0 Box Score
Stephen F. Austin (7-6) swung at a .327 clip and limited Texas Southern (1-11) to a .106 attack percentage to earn the 3-0 sweep in Friday’s nightcap. It was the second best attack percentage for SFA in a match this season. The team posted a .368 mark in a 3-0 sweep of New Orleans on September 12.
Ivy and Bartlett combined for 20 kills and just one attack error for a .452 attack percentage, Holland racked up 34 assists and Olson had 12 digs for SFA in the match.
The Ladyjacks faced little resistance from the Lady Tigers over the first two sets. SFA used a 5-0 run to jump in front 11-4 and another 6-0 run late to cruise to a 25-13 win in the opening set.
Stephen F. Austin rode that momentum into the second and posted a similar result. The squad never trailed in the frame thanks in large part to a robust .471 attack percentage. SFA finished on a 16-6 run to win the second set 25-14.
The ‘Jacks were tested in the third set of the match but were able to edge the Lady Tigers 25-21 to finish the 3-0 sweep.
Louisville 3, SFA 0 Box Score
The Ladyjacks couldn’t overcome early deficits against the Cardinals (6-4) in their opening match of the tournament, falling in straight sets to the ACC foe.
SFA got a balanced attack from Bartlett, Walker and Ivy as the trio combined for 28 kills in the match. Holland recorded her fourth double-double of the season, notching 31 assists and 11 digs on the afternoon. Olson chipped in 15 digs from the back line.
Stephen F. Austin compiled a .128 attack percentage as a team compared to a .306 mark by Louisville. Despite the disparity, the Ladyjacks battled neck and neck with the Cardinals for most of the match.
Louisville jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and went up 7-1 in the second before SFA could find its bearings in either frame. Although the Ladyjacks fought back in each set, the early deficits proved to be costly as the Cardinals cut each SFA rally short to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Ladyjacks scored the opening point in set three to claim their first lead of the afternoon. SFA maintained the early advantage for the first half of the set before Louisville evened the score at 10-10. The game saw nine ties and five lead changes from there. Four straight points behind kills from Bartlett and freshman Abby McIntyre helped Stephen F. Austin go up 21-19 late, but the Cardinals mounted a 6-1 run to win the set 25-22 and complete the sweep.
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