Stephen F. Austin
12-4
Rice University
10-4
Late Rice Run Sends Ladyjacks to 3-2 Loss against Owls
9/16/2017 11:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Hanna earns All-Tournament Team honors, Coleman leads SFA's offense with 15 kills
HOUSTON - Up 11-9 in the fifth and final frame, the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team watched its late lead slip away as Rice scored six of the final eight points of the match to secure a 3-2 triumph in Tudor Fieldhouse in the final game of the Rice Adidas Invitational II on Saturday night.
Junior outside hitter Haley Coleman finished with a team-high 15 kills for SFA and was one of four Ladyjacks who posted 10 or more terminations, but Rice's Nicole Lennon pounded down a match-high 23 terminations to lift the Owls to victory.
After the Owls put up four of the first five points of the fifth frame, SFA knotted matters at four points apiece by using a Rice service error and consecutive service aces off the hand of freshman Morgan Hinds. Rice posted the next point before five different Ladyjacks posted kills during a 5-2 run that put the visitors ahead 9-7.
That lead held up until Lennon added three of her 23 kills during the Owls' 6-2 run to finish off the match.
SFA stood poised to finish off the Owls in four sets after the Ladyjacks used a kill from Coleman and an attack error from Lennon to go up 16-15 in the fourth frame. Rice, however, watched Lennon bounce and deliver four kills in as part of a 5-1 run to take the lead for the remainder of that set in order to force a decisive fifth frame.
Coleman added 18 digs to complete her double-double bid while Corin Evans (12 kills, 15 digs), Ann Hollas (41 assists, 15 digs) and KK Payne (10 kills, 12 digs) each turned in double-doubles as well. Lexus Cain racked up 20 digs for the second-straight match and junior Makenzee Hanna earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as a result of her great all-around play throughout the weekend.
Against Rice the DeSoto, Texas, product turned in a match-high seven block assists while adding five kills and a pair of digs.
With their non-conference regular season schedule in the books, SFA now turns its attention toward Southland Conference action. The Ladyjacks are set to open up their 18-match league slate inside Shelton Gym on Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. when they play host to Central Arkansas.
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