Strong Play Through Five Sets Highlights Ladyjacks' First Summer Scrimmage
8/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Since August 9, the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team has been making its way through summer practices and following nine days worth of two-a-days the Ladyjacks got their first opportunity to hit the floor of Shelton Gym for a mock game day situation on Thursday night.
Split up into a pair of squads, the 18-member Ladyjack team battled each other through an evenly matched five-set scrimmage in order to test the mettle of each team member and to see how far the team had progressed throughout the summer months with the regular season opener just eight days away.
“Right now it’s all about giving everybody game time experience and to make it as real as possible,” said 29th-year head coach Debbie Humphreys. “We’re looking to see who is going to play at the most consistent level as opposed to who will take us on the roller-coaster ride. Knowing that we have some depth if somebody is struggling is a major advantage for us and our ability to make adjustments if need be.”
With eight new faces among the Ladyjacks’ ranks in 2016, there were a multitude of opportunities for each different player to show out to the best of their abilities. At the end of the night, it was sophomore Peyton Redmond who stepped to the forefront and helped her team stave off four match points by smashing down three of her match-best 22 kills to take the 3-2 comeback victory.
Sophomore Haley Coleman joined Redmond in double-digit kill territory with 16 and completed one three of the team’s double-doubles with 23 digs. Directing the offense for the victors was freshman setter Ann Hollas who passed out a match-best 49 assists.
Freshman Shayla Eagleton played a major defensive role in the front row, amassing a match-best seven block assists that complimented her seven kills well.
On the opposite end of the court, balanced attacking played a big role for the designated home team. Four players concluded the scrimmage with 10 or more kills, led by freshman KK Payne’s 14 to go with 19 digs. Fellow first-year Ladyjack Xariah Williams notched 13 kills while Justice Walker and Corin Evans put down 12 and 11 respectively. Evans played at a high level in all six rotations throughout the match, scooping up a match-best 29 digs.
“I was pretty pleased with our defense tonight,” Humphreys said. “Certainly at this time of year you always need to improve your blocking, but I feel like our floor defense was very strong. We were digging out a lot of balls, but I’d like to see us executing at a more consistent level on offense.”
A strong service game put on display by the designated home team helped it control portions of the match as Payne and Shannon Connell each served up three aces.
After engaging in one more team practice, the Ladyjacks will wrap up their slate of scrimmages with the last of two intrasquad bouts. First serve in SFA’s second scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Shelton Gym.
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