Stephen F. Austin
25-2, 12-0SLC
Lamar
6-17, 3-9SLC
SFA Hits 25-Win Mark by Making Short Work of Lamar in Beaumont
10/27/2018 2:20:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Anyia Williams hits .889 with eight kills as SFA wins 22nd-straight
BEAUMONT, Texas - Sophomore middle blocker Anyia Williams led a highly effective attack by the SFA volleyball team by hitting .889 and finishing with eight kills to help the Ladyjacks become the first NCAA Division I volleyball team to reach the 25-win mark this season as SFA destroyed Lamar, 3-0, inside McDonald Gym Saturday afternoon.
Makenzee Hanna added seven kills, Ann Hollas pounded down six and Haley Coleman added five to help SFA's attack percentage settle at .233 for the match. Junior middle blocker Danae Daron added four kills and a match-high five block assists to help SFA hold the Cardinals to an attack percentage of only .020.
With the win, SFA stays perfect in Southland Conference action at 11-0 and extended the nation's second-longest active winning streak to 22 matches.
SET ONE | SFA 25, Lamar 14
• There was absolutely nothing Lamar could do to stop the offensive dominance of the Ladyjacks in the opening set. SFA received five kills apiece from Anyia Williams (who hit a perfect 1.000) and another five from Makenzee Hanna to draw first blood.
• As a team, the Ladyjacks operated at an offensive clip of .303 through the set and that potent offensive attack started right from the opening serve as SFA began things with a 6-0 run.
• Hanna fired in a pair of kills, Redmond pounded down another and the duo of Daron and Hanna combined for SFA's lone rejection of the frame to key SFA's opening statement.
• Lamar rarely threatened in the frame, mostly due to the ineffectiveness of the Cardinals' offense. The home team conjured up just five kills and committed six errors in the frame to finish with an attack percentage of -.030.
• The home team strung together three consecutive points to prolong the opening frame before Lamar's second service error of the set gave SFA the 25th and final point of the set.
SET TWO | SFA 25, Lamar 17
• Exactly like what happened in the opening frame, SFA raced out to a 6-0 lead and had to fend off just one big push by the Cardinals before opening up an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the match.
• Hanna had a kill and a block assist in SFA's scoring spree to start the set while Haley Coleman posted a solo block to keep the Cardinals' attack percentage in negative territory for the second-straight frame.
• Any plans SFA had to make the second set a runaway went by the wayside when the Cardinals took off on a 7-1 run to knot matters at 7-7.
• Though they never took the lead, the Cardinals managed to tie things up once more during the middle frame and remained within two points until consecutive kills from Daron and Redmond gave the visitors a 16-12 cushion.
• During SFA's 9-4 run to close the set, senior setter McKenzie Brewer fed Hollas time and time again who put in three kills during the run. Redmond posted another kill and a block assists during that surge, too,
• SFA's front row defense came up big in the frame as the Ladyjacks posted four blocks and held the Cardinals to and attack percentage of -.065.
SET THREE | SFA 25, Lamar 18
• Even though Lamar was able to finish the set with a positive attack percentage, that didn't prevent the Ladyjacks from completing the sweep. SFA, however, had to do so with a comeback after the Cardinals raced out to a 7-2 lead.
• The home team remained in front for the first half of the frame and took a 14-9 lead after a kill by Dannisha House and an attack error from Hanna before SFA strung together some points.
• Coleman came up with a kill while Redmond added the first of SFA's three service aces in the set during a 6-0 run by the visitors that put them ahead 15-14.
• Lamar scored three of the next four points to go up by a 17-16 tally but SFA stepped hard on the gas pedal to make sure the match would only last three sets.
• Brewer and Coleman each served up aces and Anyia Williams added her final two kills during the Ladyjacks' 9-1 run to end the set and the match.
• Both teams hit an identical .143 in the frame, but SFA committed only four attack errors compared to eight by the Cardinals.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• For the second-straight match - and for the fifth time in 2018 - SFA the team lined up across the net from it under a .100 attack percentage. Lamar hit only .020 in its sixth-straight setback, committing 25 attack errors against 27 terminations
• Hollas dished out a team-high 18 assists and also finished with eight digs and a block assist to go along with her six terminations. The setter hit .545 in the match and between her and Anyia Williams 14 of SFA's 33 kills were represented.
• Service pressure was another key for the Ladyjacks who out-aced their south Texas rivals 7-4. Coleman and Redmond each finished with a pair of aces while Brewer, Hollas and Sabrina Monaco put in one apiece.
• Bre'Ala Box and Tomas Thomas each totaled eight kills for Lamar, but neither hit above .115. House came up with two of the Cardinals' four service aces as well as one of the team's two solo blocks.
• Speaking of blocks, Daron finished with a match-high five block assists and helped SFA rack up eight rejections.
• Hanna chipped in a trio of block assists to compliment her seven kills.
• SFA extended the third-longest winning streak in program history to 22 matches with the win and also became the first NCAA Division I volleyball team to reach the 25-win plateau in 2018. The Ladyjacks' 22-match winning streak is the second-longest streak in the nation trailing only fifth-ranked Pittsburgh who has won each of its first 23 matches.
QUOTABLE
SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys on the efficiency of the Ladyjacks' offense | "Offensively we were really clicking today. We did defend Lamar really well, too, but they were able to execute their passing game at a pretty high level. Because of that, it wasn't wasn't necessarily what was happening for us at the service line, it just came down to us having one of the more high-energy matches we have had since we took on Central Arkansas."
…on what the team worked on at yesterday's practice | "Our offense just needed to be a big focus of ours, and yesterday in practice that's what we spent about 80-percent of our time on. It just came down to making sure everybody was comfortable, on the same page and getting back to the things we can do well if we go out and execute."
…on returning home to face Sam Houston State | "It doesn't matter what place either of us are in when you look at the Southland standings, whenever SFA and Sam Houston State get together you can throw the records out the window. You're going to have two high-level teams going at it Thursday night, and that'll mean a great match for our fans in attendance."
COMING UP NEXT
• Thursday evening inside Shelton Gym, the top two teams in the Southland Conference are set to clash when SFA hosts hated Piney Woods rival Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. The Bearkats sit just one game back of SFA for first place in the league standings and fans around the globe can tune into the action on ESPN+ and the ESPN app which will carry the match. Greg Miller and Brittany Castledine will be courtside providing play-by-play and analysis of the Southland's biggest match of the season.
-SFA-
