Stephen F. Austin
30-2, 16-0
#8 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
9-21, 8-8SLC
Ladyjacks Use Strong Offensive Attack, Triple-Double from Hollas to Dispatch Islanders in SLC Tournament
11/16/2018 1:54:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Hollas notches second triple-double of 2018, is one of four Ladyjacks with 10+ kills
NATCHITOCHES, La. - It wasn't without its fair share of dramatic moments, but at the conclusion of the Southland Conference Tournament opener, the top-seeded SFA volleyball team did what all teams around this time of year need to do in order to keep their respective seasons alive.
They survived and advanced.
Junior middle blocker and All-Southland Conference First Team selection Danae Daron amassed a team-high 15 kills, while sophomore Anyia Williams and senior Haley Coleman added 12 and 10 respectively to help the top-seeded Ladyjacks team dodge an upset bid by eighth-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by winning 3-1 in the first quarterfinal bout of the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament inside Prather Coliseum Friday morning.
Putting forth an outstanding all-around effort, junior and 2018 Southland Conference Setter of the Year put forth her second triple-double of the season by racking up 10 kills, 20 assists and 10 digs. It marked the first time in the history of the Southland Conference Tournament that a player has registered a triple-double in a match.
SET ONE | SFA 25, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 21
• Playing for the first time in six days, the Ladyjacks had a little rust to shake off early in the match as the Islanders notched seven of the first 10 points of the match to take an early lead.
• Able to weather the Islanders' early surge, SFA countered with a 9-2 run featuring two terminations from Hollas and another from Coleman to move ahead 12-9.
• From that point on, SFA never trailed again but had to fend off several rally tries by the Islanders the rest of the way. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi battled back to tie things at 13, 17 and 18 points before a momentum-killing service error by the Islanders' Angel Felan started SFA's 7-3 run to win the frame.
• Daron loomed large on the offensive side in that run, putting down a trio of kills to help SFA hit .282 in the set.
SET TWO | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 29, SFA 27
• Exactly like what occurred in the opening frame, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi raced out to a 7-3 lead before SFA countered with a run of its own.
• The Ladyjacks' first lead of the set came when senior setter McKenzie Brewer dumped in a kill during a 4-1 SFA run that made matters 15-14.
• Coleman helped SFA keep its foot on the gas by firing in a service ace that upped the Ladyjacks' lead to 21-19 before the Islanders showed off their grit.
• Three-straight points by the Islanders put them on top and set off a back-and-forth spree that required extra points to settle.
• SFA appeared poised to go up 2-0 when consecutive attack errors by Rachel Young put the Ladyjacks ahead 27-26, but kills from Chloe Simon and Young as well as an attack error from Coleman brought the Islanders back and allowed them to tie the match at 1-1.
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi hit .278 in the set compared to a .250 clip by SFA.
SET THREE | SFA 25, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 23
• Once again, it was all Islanders early on as the lower seed started the set with a 5-2 run.
• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi stayed ahead through most of the early stages and owned a 14-13 lead after a kill fro mSam Dumity before SFA responded.
• Anyia Williams, Peyton Redmond and Hollas each put down kills during a 5-0 SFA run that pushed the Ladyjacks ahead 18-14 and forced a timeout by the Islanders.
• Back-to-back terminations from Coleman and Daron put SFA up 23-19, but the Islanders scored four in a row to knot things at 23.
• Out of a timeout, Daron pounded down her fourth and final termination of the set before Coleman ended things with a service ace. Neither offense had much trouble operating as SFA hit .341 while the Islanders connected at a clip of .309.
SET FOUR | SFA 25, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 14
• Asserting their dominance, SFA finally fired on all cylinders to put the Islanders away.
• SFA started the match on an 18-7 run and outside of a 7-2 Islander run following that, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi didn't pose much of a threat.
• That run trimmed SFA's lead down to 19-13, but after a timeout SFA ended things with a 6-1 run featuring kills from Coleman, Daron and Redmond.
• Both offense and defense were working well for SFA as the Ladyjacks hit .379 while limiting the Islanders to a clip of .000 (nine kills, nine errors on 37 swings).
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Although the Islanders became the first team since September 15 (North Texas) to hit over .200 against SFA, the Ladyjacks did what they needed to do to slow down Texas A&M-Corpus Christi just enough to move on. Daron and Hanna each came up with five blocks while Anyia Williams had four to help SFA out-block the Islanders 10-2.
• With Hollas busy making Southland Conference Tournament history, that left senior McKenzie Brewer as the team's primary setter. The Grapevine, Texas, product took on the role admirably, dishing out a team-best 27 assists and matched a career-high with a match-best three service aces.
• Coleman put forth a double-double effort, complimenting her 10 terminations with 13 digs. The senior was one of four SFA players who totaled at least 10 scoops and leading the way in that group was senior Peyton Redmond who racked up 14 digs.
• Carter was nothing short of dominant for the Islanders in their final match of the season. The She was one of four Texas A&M-Corpus Christi players with at least 10 kills and put up a match-best 20 kills on 33 errorless swings to finish with an attack percentage of .606.
• Madison Green, Chloe Simon and Kylie Filipiak each finished with 10 terminations for the Islanders who wrapped up the match with a plus-six kill advantage (65-59) over SFA.
• With the win, SFA increased the nation's longest active winning streak to 27 matches and established a new program record for consecutive victories in the process. The victory was also SFA's 30th in 2018, marking the first time since 2006 and the fourth time in program history the Ladyjacks have totaled 30 or more wins in a season.
• SFA moves to 29-27 in Southland Conference Tournament matches and is now 8-5 all-time as the top overall seed. The Ladyjacks also advance to the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2016 and will be seeking their first berth in the Southland Conference Tournament title game since 2009 in their next match.
COMING UP NEXT
• At noon on Saturday, SFA will battle either fourth-seeded Abilene Christian or fifth-seeded Houston Baptist for the right to advance to the Southland Conference Tournament championship. The Ladyjacks' semifinal battle is the first of two Saturday with both available for viewing nationwide via the Southland Digital Network.
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