Stephen F. Austin
29-2, 16-0SLC
New Orleans
12-19, 6-10SLC
SFA Completes Perfect Run Through Southland Play, Defeats New Orleans 3-0
11/10/2018 2:51:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Hollas puts down 10 kills as SFA wins 26th-straight
NEW ORLEANS - Not only is SFA's 2018 Southland Conference regular season title the 10th in the history of the program, it is now a perfect 10th.
Junior setter Ann Hollas delivered 10 kills and completed her team-leading 13th double-double by passing out 28 assists to lead a balanced attack by the Ladyjacks who downed New Orleans 3-0 at the Human Performance Center Saturday afternoon to finish off its first perfect run through the Southland Conference since 2014.
With their 16-0 mark in Southland Conference action this season, SFA has now posted a perfect record in Southland play on four occasions - 2005 (20-0), 2006 (16-0), 2014 (16-0) and the latest this season.
SET ONE | SFA 25, New Orleans 17
• Letting their offense set the tone in the opening set of the tilt, SFA hit .316 and generated 16 terminations in order to strike first.
• New Orleans middle blocker Kaitlyn Grice pounded down a pair of kills to help the home team take a 2-1 lead early on before a 6-1 run by the Ladyjacks put the visitors up the rest of the way. Makenzee Hanna and Peyton Redmond each put down a pair of kills through that run.
• Haley Coleman keyed another SFA run, this one of the 7-1 variety, with a trio of terminations and one of her two service aces to push SFA's lead to 18-10.
• New Orleans managed to cut SFA's lead down to 21-15, but the Ladyjacks netted four of the next six points to finish off the set. McKenzie Brewer started that 4-2 set-clinching run with a dump kill and Anyia Williams added a pair during it, too.
• The Privateers hit .219, but SFA's superior firepower was the difference in the set.
SET TWO | SFA 25, New Orleans 17
• Contrasting sharply to the theme of the opening set, SFA used its defense to get out to an early lead in the middle frame. The Ladyjacks' 3-0 run to begin the set consisted of a trio of blocks and reigning SportsImports/AVCA NCAA Division I Player of the Week Danae Daron had a hand in each one.
• SFA looked poised to run away with the set after opening up a 10-4 lead but the Privateers made use of a pair of blocks during a 5-1 run that tied things at 14-all.
• Though they managed to tie the match, the Privateers never grabbed the lead as SFA closed things on an 11-3 run to open up a 2-0 lead. Six of the Ladyjacks' 14 kills in the set came during that surge and Brewer added her lone service ace of the match during it, too.
• Thanks to their strong front-row defense, SFA held New Orleans to a hitting percentage of -.020 in the frame. Though the Ladyjacks' attack cooled off a bit and operated at a clip of .136, it made little to no difference due to the defense. UNO also committed five unforced attack error and a pair of blocking errors in the set to aid SFA's cause.
SET THREE | SFA 25, New Orleans 18
• Wanting to finish things as quickly as possible, SFA started the final frame on a 4-1 run and had to hold off several charges from the Privateers who were playing in their final set of the season.
• Coleman, Hanna and Redmond pounded down kills during that run, but the Privateers made sure SFA's lead got no larger than three points through the early stages of the set thanks to Rhyan Rand who put down two of her 10 kills to account for a pair of UNO's first eight points.
• Up 10-8, SFA took off on a 6-1 run powered by a pair of unforced Privateer errors and two terminations from Daron.
• SFA's lead remained at seven points, 18-11, before a 5-1 New Orleans run featuring kills from three different players cut SFA's edge down to 19-16. Out of a timeout by the Ladyjacks, SFA ended the match on a 6-2 run by receiving terminations from five different players.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• SFA's depth played a large part in the win once again. Hollas may have finished with a match-high 10 kills but four other Ladyjacks posted seven or more terminations. Hanna totaled nine, Coleman and Redmond each put in eight and Daron racked up seven on a match-best attack percentage of .462.
• Anyia Williams again loomed large at the front of the net, finishing with a match-high five blocks. Daron and Hanna added four block assists each and in terms of floor defense SFA was led by Coleman's 14 digs. Sabrina Monaco added 10 scoops for the second-straight match.
• Hollas (28) and Brewer (12) turned in 40 of the Ladyjacks' 41 assists and ran an offense that hit .265 for the match.
• Rand finished with 10 terminations and hit .667 for the Privateers. Additionally, she amassed five total blocks.
• Andrea Nava amassed a match-best 20 digs in the Privateers' setback.
• SFA tied the program record for consecutive wins with its 26th-straight victory. That winning streak is the longest in the nation while SFA's win total of 29 also represents the most on the NCAA Division I volleyball scene at the moment.
• The Ladyjacks also increased the nation's longest active road match winning streak to 11 matches. New Orleans hit just .099 in the match and SFA has now held five of its last six opponents to a hitting percentage under .100.
QUOTABLE
SFA senior Haley Coleman on achieving a perfect record in Southland play | "I think it's really memorable especially for my senior year. This is exactly how I would have wanted our regular season to end. I love everyone on this year and we have worked so hard to accomplish this goal."
…on playing two-straight matches against teams who were celebrating their senior days | "Senior day or not, everyone is going to play us like it's their championship match. Everyone is going to bring their A-game against us. That's something we have understood throughout this entire season and we have had to take it upon ourselves to be up for a big challenge every single night.
…on SFA's improved offense through the last six matches | "It's a little bit of everything. We have all stepped up as hitters and our setters have been working so hard to give us the best kind of ball to attack. We have had a great connection with our setters all year and have really done a good job of swinging high and swinging fast.
COMING UP NEXT
• Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches, La., will serve as the next stop for the Ladyjacks who will be the top seed in the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament. SFA will play the eight-seed in the opening round of the tournament at a time to be determined on Friday.
-SFA-
