Stephen F. Austin
14-4, 2-0Southland
Northwestern State University
5-11, 1-1Southland
SFA Shakes Off Slow Start to Demolish Northwestern State in 3-1 Win
9/23/2017 4:14:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Three Ladyjacks amass 10+ kills as Humphreys wins 650th career match
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - After a late Northwestern State run in the first set propelled the visiting Lady Demons to a 1-0 lead, it set off a raucous celebration for the visitors.
Over the next three sets, the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team made sure their Louisiana rivals would not have many more opportunites for cheering.
Carrying over the offensive potency they displayed earlier in the week, the Ladyjacks used 16 kills from sophomore Corin Evans, 15 more from Haley Coleman and 12 additional ones from Danae Daron to stop a scrappy Lady Demon squad and become one of only four Southland Conference teams without a loss in league play following a 3-1 victory in Shelton Gym Saturday afternoon. The win pushed SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys' career total to 650, making her one of only 15 active NCAA Division I coaches with 650 or more victories.
Dishing out a season-best 46 assists, sophomore setter Ann Hollas oversaw an SFA attack that operated at a .301 hitting percentage and grew stronger as the match progressed following a start that was somewhat slower than most in SFA's corner would have liked.
"Initially we looked like we wanted to get by with as little effort as possible which is not what you do when you're playing conference matches," stated SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys. "In between those first two sets we communicated to the team that we don't want to sit back and wait for things to happen, we want to make things happen."
That was exactly what SFA did, too, as the Ladyajcks' offensive efficiency crescendoed at a steady pace as the sets wore on (.159, .324, .393, .407). Conversely, the Lady Demons' offense did the opposite, slipping all the way down into negative territory in the final frame (.323, .132, .067, -.036).
"Ann Hollas has had two great matches this week and for our team to put up the kind of numbers we have and to have the balanced offense it goes back to your setter," Humphreys continued. "The hitters are doing well but that goes back to your setter because if she's not delivering that ball effectively then they're not generating those kinds of numbers."
Putting together her latest excellent all-around effort, Makenzee Hanna pounded down eight kills, hit .727 and finished with a match-high six blocks.
The junior's sole kill of the first set pushed the Ladyjacks' lead to 20-15 before five consecutive points from Northwestern State made the score even for the eighth time in the frame. Although kills from Coleman and Daron managed to put the hosts back on top, Northwestern State employed a 4-0 run culminating with a kill from Hannah Brister to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead.
Fired up following their fourth-straight set victory of Southland Conference play, Northwestern State jumped out to a narrow 8-7 lead in the second before SFA shut down their Louisiana adversaries for good.
By using two separate 4-0 runs - both of which started with Northwestern State service errors - SFA captured the lead and watched it expand to 19-12. That edge never dipped lower than five points and a 3-0 surge consisting of one kill from Coleman and two more off the hands of Daron pulled SFA even.
Sufficiently focused, SFA made sure Northwestern State never posed a threat again. Three different Ladyjacks pounded down kills and Hollas added one of her two aces as part of a 5-1 run by the hosts to start set three. Consecutive terminations from Kourtney Seaton and Reagan Rogers trimmed the Ladyajcks' lead to 8-6 before a 7-0 SFA run featuring a trio of Coleman kills and another Hollas ace pushed the Ladyjacks ahead 15-6.
In all, SFA's service pressure resulted in four aces for the home team in the third frame. Junior Sam Rodriguez added two more in addition to the two fired in by Hollas to make sure Northwestern State stayed back on its heels.
The only other lead the Lady Demons enjoyed in the match came when Drake and Rogers ended a long rally with a combo block for the first point of the final set. That advantage did not last long, however, as SFA took the fight out of their rivals with an 8-1 run following the rejection.
SFA's lead ballooned to double digits, 17-4, on the heels of an 8-0 surge which featured two aces from Evans and a pair of kills from Hanna. With the Lady Demons reeling, SFA sent them back to Natchitoches, La., with a loss by winning eight of the next 13 points.
Making sure the Lady Demons' attack was slowed from a back-row defensive standpoint was Lexus Cain who added a team-high 21 digs to her impressive career total. No Northwestern State played went over the nine kills Rogers accumulated and an 8-2 advantage in service aces made sure SFA snared the win.
Following the conclusion the Ladyjacks' tilt with Northwestern State, the hosts will enjoy a break of nearly one full week before returning to the court for their next match. On Saturday, Sept. 30, SFA is set to head down to Houston, Texas, for a Southland Conference tilt with Houston Baptist. First serve inside Sharp Gym is slated for 1:00 p.m.
-SFA-
