Hanna-Led Ladyjacks Wreck Abilene Christian in Four Sets
11/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Box Score
Stephen F. Austin 3, Abilene Christian 1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-13, 25-17)
Records: SFA (20-12, 11-4 Southland), ACU (8-20, 8-7 Southland)
Up Next: vs. Incarnate Word • Saturday, Nov. 14 • Noon • Shelton Gym
NACOGDOCHES,Texas – Anyone who is even remotely familiar with Stephen F. Austin volleyball knows that over the past month Makenzee Hanna has brought a level of consistency to the team that it was in search of ever since it began its Southland Conference schedule by utilizing a potent swing on the right side of the net.
Although she may not have swung as efficiently as she would have liked to against Abilene Christian on Thursday night, all of the other facets of her game more than made up for it.
Producing her finest all-around match yet, Hanna drove 17 kills to the floor of Shelton Gym and completed her double-double bid by adding 13 digs as the Ladyjacks scored a 3-1 come-from-behind win over the Wildcats. The DeSoto, Texas, product also amassed two solo blocks, four block assists, a service ace and an assist in the four-set triumph.
Each and every player who saw court time for SFA flew around on the defensive end of things, helping SFA’s dig total rise to 83 by the time the league confrontation was in the books. Senior OJ Olson hustled down a match-high 32 dings and added two of SFA’s five service aces. With Olson and the rest of the back row crew holding up their end of the bargain, that opened things up for Hanna and Justice Walker to unleash the majority of SFA’s offensive salvo.
Junior Shannon Connell set up 45 of SFA’s 53 kills in the match.
SFA didn’t wait a moment before getting started against the Wildcats. Hanna and Jacque Allen were directly responsible for all but one point in the Ladyjacks’ opening 6-2 barrage, but Jennifer Loerch countered with three kills of her own as part of a 5-0 surge by the visitors that put ACU on top for the first time.
From there, neither team gained a sizable advantage as the frame became deadlocked on eight occasions, the last of which came courtesy of an Allen spike to make things 24-all. Following the senior’s slam down, ACU received a kill from Walker and an SFA attack error to take a 1-0 lead.
Midway through the second frame, it appeared as though a situation similar to what occurred in Abilene earlier in the season would come to pass yet again for SFA. Lauren Walker and Loerch sandwiched kills around a trio of Ladyjack attack errors, extending ACU’s edge to 15-11 before Hanna and Walker seized control of the match from the Wildcats.
Aside from a three unforced errors by the Wildcats and a kill from SFA senior Tori Bates, Hanna and Walker had a hand in every point in a 13-3 SFA run spree which gave the home team all the cushion it required to hand on for the win.
Another sizable run – this one of the 12-2 variety – gave SFA full control of the league bout. Up 13-11 in the third frame, the Ladyjacks saw Wildcats committed six unforced errors, which translated to half of SFA’s points in their match-clinching stretch. ACU’s hitting percentage took a substantial nosedive, going from .189 in the second to -.049 in the third frame. Conversely, SFA doubled its accuracy from the second set to the third (.122 to .250).
Frustrated with the way things finished in the third, the Wildcats couldn’t build up any momentum which left SFA only too eager to pounce and put the match away. The Ladyjacks’ 6-2 run to commence the deciding set concluded with another Bates kill and Olson’s second service ace of the match.
The lead for SFA ballooned to as many as eight points in the set and by the time the SFA alma mater blared through the gymnasium speakers, Bates had collected nine of the Ladyjacks’ 53 kills. Allen and Jordan McArdle added seven winners apiece and Samantha Rodriguez chipped in 11 digs.
Before they serve up the first ball with Incarnate Word in Shelton Gym on Saturday, the Ladyjacks will have a brief ceremony to honor the contributions of their senior class. Allen, Bates, McArdle and Olson will all be playing in the final home match of their careers
