Stephen F. Austin
20-5, 8-1Southland
McNeese
14-11, 5-5Southland
Four Ladyjacks Post Double-Digit Kills to Help SFA Fend Off McNeese, 3-1
10/19/2017 9:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Coleman and Evans post double-doubles in SFA's 20th win of 2017
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - During the middle of October - usually when teams are right near the midpoint of their conference schedules - everybody has something according to Stephen F. Austin volleyball coach Debbie Humphreys.
"Whether it's physical fatigue, mental fatigue, or something else, everyone has it this time of year," commented the Ladyjacks' head coach. "The difference is going to end up being which of the teams can push through and overcome it at the end of the night."
On Thursday evening in Shelton Gym, the Ladyjacks were the ones who persevered in order to lock down the program's 21st season of 20 or more wins.
Making use of a four-pronged attack plan in which a quartet of players finished with 10 or more kills, the Ladyjacks did just enough at just the right times to outlast a troublesome McNeese squad by a 3-1 margin.
Haley Coleman led the way with a match-best 14 kills and completed her double-double by tying senior Lexus Cain for team-high honors with 19 digs. Corin Evans added a 12-kill, 14-dig double-double of her own while Makenzee Hanna and Anyia Williams punched in 10 kills apiece.
Although Danae Daron did not join her teammates in double-digit kill territory, the sophomore helped the Ladyjacks post an 11.5-8 advantage in blocks by amassing a match-high six block assists that helped limit McNeese's attack percentage to .153.
"McNeese plays phenomenal floor defense and they have some big, skilled blockers, too," Humphreys added. "Certainly if we're in system it's going to be tough for any team to have great blocking numbers against us, but when they've got those two blockers all over you it's hard to find a way to score."
All three of SFA's setters - Ann Hollas (23 assists), McKenzie Brewer (22 assists) and Margaret Dean (three assists) - took a turn running the Ladyjacks' offense. Dean was called upon in the first set to spell Hollas who took a shot to the face and exited with a bloody nose before returning.
After McNeese took the first of its two one-point leads in the first frame by generating a kill to open the match, SFA received a pair of good swings from Evans and one more from Hanna as part of a 5-1 run to jump ahead. The Cowgirls countered with a 6-2 surge made possible largely by a trio of kills from Katelyn Elliott before two Cowgirl errors and a pair of Coleman kills pushed SFA in front by an 11-9 margin.
Continuing to give the Cowgirls fits down the stretch, Evans delivered a trio of kills during SFA's 9-0 run to close out the frame. Xariah Williams added two of her seven terminations during that span to help the hosts deliver a .371 attacking effort in the opening frame. Evans racked up eight of her kills in that set - one fewer than the nine McNeese managed to conjure up as a team.
Receiving a much more difficult test from the Cowgirls in the second, the Ladyjacks were deadlocked with their Louisiana rivals on eight occasions, the final one coming when a combo block from the Cowgirls made matters 11-11. From there, however, Evans keyed a 6-2 SFA run with a pair of kills that helped the hosts take a 17-13 lead.
That advantage grew to 20-15 following a service ace from Hollas - SFA's second of the set - before the Cowgirls' final charge of the frame. Two SFA errors coupled with an ace, a block and a kill from the Cowgirls pulled the visitors within one, 21-20, before Hanna handed the Ladyjacks a 2-0 advantage. The junior hammered down two terminations and with one more from Anyia Williams as well as a match-ending block, SFA's 4-2 run to close the set.
Poised to sweep after securing a lead of 17-14 late in the third, the Ladyjacks were hit with a well-timed offensive haymaker from McNeese. Seven of the Cowgirls' 20 kills in the third set came during an 11-4 run which forced a fourth set. During that frame, SFA's defense - which had generated 10.5 blocks through the first two sets - was rendered almost useless against an McNeese squad which hit .370.
"McNeese was in system a lot in the third and they showed what their offense was capable of doing when they're operating at a high level," Humphreys commented.
The Cowgirls remained in control through the opening stages of the final frame before Anyia Williams stepped to the forefront of the Ladyjacks' offense and helped SFA put away their pesky foes from Lake Charles.
With her squad trailing 9-8, Williams slammed home four of her 10 terminations through the course of an 8-1 run that put SFA ahead by a score of 16-10. McNeese responded by reeling off the next three points, but SFA put the Cowgirls away for good with a match-clinching 9-3 run that saw Coleman slap down four kills and both Williams - Anyia and Xariah - add two each.
Katelyn Elliott and Keegan Nelms combined to produce 23 of the Cowgirls' 49 kills in the match with the former generating 13 through the four frames. Shanna Spree - who entered the match with the third-highest attack percentage in the Southland Conference - did finish with eight kills and five blocks but was limitied to an attack percentage of only .161.
SFA's 2017 Homecoming Week culminates Saturday at noon when the Ladyjacks play host to Nicholls. First serve inside Shelton Gym has been set for noon.
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