Stephen F. Austin
27-2, 14-0Southland
Abilene Christian
13-14, 10-5Southlan
Block & Roll! Ladyjacks Rack up 25.5 Blocks, Clinch Share of SLC Title with 3-1 Senior Day Win over ACU
11/3/2018 3:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Daron, Hanna and Hollas each turn in double-doubles as SFA wins 24th-straight
Senior Day Ceremony | SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys Post-Match Comments
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - On an afternoon in which its senior class of Peyton Redmond, Haley Coleman, Makenzee Hanna and McKenzie Brewer were all playing in the final home match of their respective careers, the rest of the SFA volleyball team threw them a block party to celebrate.
The Ladyjacks clinched at least a share of the 2018 Southland Conference regular season crown and locked up the number-one seed for the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament by racking up 25.5 blocks - the most in a single match by any NCAA Division I volleyball team in a four-set match this season - to take down Abilene Christian 3-1.
Danae Daron, Hanna and Ann Hollas each submitted double-doubles in SFA's 24th-straight win - a winning streak that's the lengthiest in the nation. Daron pounded down a team-high 10 kills and added a match-high 13 blocks while Hanna also finished with 10 terminations to go along with 11 rejections.
Hollas scooped up a team-high 22 digs and passed out 21 of SFA's 40 assists.
SET ONE | SFA 25, Abilene Christian 18
• Foreshadowing the theme of the entire match right away, SFA posted blocks to notch its first two points of the tilt. The Ladyjacks' 3-0 run to begin things was capped by Hanna's first termination of the afternoon.
• Abilene Christian never led in the set and SFA employed a 4-0 run in the middle of the set to extend its lead to 4-0. Of those four points, three came via the block as Daron teamed with Hanna twice and Redmond one time to keep the Wildcats' attack off-balance.
• The Wildcats used a 4-1 run consisting of three blocks and a terminations from Lauren Walker to cut SFA's lead to 19-15. Out of a well-placed timeout, however, SFA ended the set on a 6-3 run to take a 1-0 lead.
• Hollas had a pair of terminations during that run, but neither team was particularly effective on offense. SFA hit only .068 in the set but held the Wildcats to a clip of -.106 to earn the win.
SET TWO | Abilene Christian 25, SFA 23
• It appeared as though the home team was well on its way to a 2-0 lead after a 6-1 run in the middle of the set increased SFA's lead from 9-8 to 15-9, but the Wildcats had other ideas.
• Jacey Smith powered a 10-1 run by the visitors by pounding down four terminations. Following that run, Abilene Christian owned a 19-16 advantage.
• SFA managed to tie matters on three occasions down the stretch, but never could retake the lead. A combo block from Anyia Williams and Coleman followed up with an ACU attack error trimmed the Wildcats' lead to 24-23, but Lauren Walker ended the set and knotted things at one set apiece with her fifth and final termination of the frame.
• Neither team hit over .060 in the set, but the Wildcats fired in 17 of their 45 terminations in the set while SFA finished with only eight. One of Abilene Christian's two service aces came during that 10-1 run, too.
SET THREE | SFA 25, Abilene Christian 21
• Able to sustain the momentum they gathered up in the second set, Abilene Christian took control early in the third with a 4-2 run. The Wildcats' lead lasted until Coleman stepped to the service line and led the home team on a big-time run.
• Trailing 8-5, SFA started its 13-2 run by posting a point off of an Abilene Christian service error. SFA's front-row defense totaled just two rejections during that run, but the Ladyjacks' offense started to overpower the Wildcats' defense through that span.
• Daron hammered down a trio of kills, while Coleman, Hanna, Corin Evans, Sabrina Monaco and Anyia Williams added one termination each to help the home team move ahead by an 18-10 score.
• Abilene Christian responded with a 7-1 run powered by Smith who turned in a pair of kills and a block assist to help trim SFA's lead to 19-17.
• Xariah Williams and Coleman started a 3-0 run for SFA with one kill each, but the Wildcats countered with a 3-0 surge that kept them within two points.
• Abilene Christian erred twice - both unforced - in SFA's 3-1 run to end the set while Coleman chipped in a kill, too.
SET FOUR | SFA 25, Abilene Christian 11
• Abilene Christian posed no threat whatsoever in the fourth and final frame as SFA started the frame on a 6-1 run and never looked back.
• The Wildcats did manage to trim SFA's lead to 6-3 off of consecutive terminations from Shelstead and Lindsey Toney, but the Ladyjacks answered with a 5-1 surge that featured three-straight blocks to take the wind of Abilene Christian's sails.
• Daron pounded down five kills while Hanna added four of her own in the set. Those two helped the Ladyjacks' attack peak as SFA finished with a hitting percentage of .406 in the frame.
• Six of the Ladyjacks' 25.5 blocks came in the final frame and they helped SFA hold Abilene Christian to a negative attack percentage. The Wildcats hit -.083 in the frame, finishing with eight kills against 11 errors.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• SFA's ludicrous blocking numbers yielded a variety of team and individual single-season record for the Ladyjacks. SFA's 25.5 total rejections were the most by a team in a four-set match and the second-most by any NCAA Division I volleyball squad this season. They also represent the most by an SFA squad in a single match in the rally scoring era (since 2001).
• With her match and career-high 13 rejections, Daron tied the mark for the most blocks by an individual in a four-set match this season. Those 13 rejections are tied for the second-most in SFA history and also represent the most in the rally-scoring era in SFA lore.
• Only Gardner-Webb registered more blocks in a single match this season than SFA did. The Bulldogs racked up 26.0 rejections in a five-set win over Middle Tennessee State on Sept. 14.
• The vast majority of SFA's defensive damage was done by the trio of Daron, Hanna and Anyia Williams. Both Hanna and Anyia Williams set career-highs by registering 11 block assists. In all, the Ladyjacks had 47 block assists - the most in a single match in program history.
• Offensively, Daron hit a match-best .600 while Coleman and Hanna each hit .206 and combined for 19 terminations.
• Hollas turned in a team-high 22 digs and was one of three SFA players with double-digit digs. Both Monaco (15) and Coleman (13) racked up at least 13 scoops.
• Between SFA's front-row and floor defense, the Ladyjacks put the clamps on the Wildcats' attack all afternoon. Abilene Christian hit .000 (45 kills, 45 errors) in its second-straight loss.
• Smith finished with a match-high 13 kills for Abilene Christian but hit just -.036 as those 13 kills were countered with 15 errors.
• ACU libero Lillian Drever registered a match-high 31 digs and was one of four Wildcats who scooped out 10 or more digs in the loss.
• SFA finished up its first undefeated home season since 2005 by going a perfect 14-0 inside Shelton Gym.
• The Ladyjacks maintained their two-match lead over Central Arkansas for the top spot in the Southland Conference standings. SFA also matched the second-longest winning streak in program history by capturing its 24th-straight triumph. SFA's 27 wins are the most in the nation so far this season.
COMING UP NEXT
• With their home schedule in the books, the Ladyjacks set out on a journey to Louisiana for the final two matches of the 2018 regular season. Thursday night in Thibodaux, La., SFA takes aim at an outright 2018 Southland Conference regular season trophy when it takes in Nicholls inside Stopher Gym. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. with Greg Miller on the call at SFAVolleyblog.net.
-SFA-
