Stephen F. Austin
12-2
North Texas
4-10
Williams Duo Helps Ladyjacks Survive and Claim Five-Set Victory at North Texas
9/15/2018 1:23:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Anyia Williams and Xariah Williams combine for 17 of SFA's 62 terminations
DENTON, Texas - When the going got tough, SFA got going.
After losing their grip on a 2-1 lead, the Ladyjacks received a series of great contributions from Haley Coleman, Anyia Williams and Xariah Williams on offense in the fifth and deciding frame to post a thrilling 3-2 victory over North Texas Saturday at the North Texas Volleyball Center,
The victory, SFA's ninth in a row, featured the Ladyjacks' first five-set test since the opening round of the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament quarterfinals and saw SFA shut down a potent North Texas attack by totaling 12 rejections and holding the Mean Green to an attack percentage of .232.
SET ONE | North Texas 25, SFA 20
• The main storyline of the opening frame was the efficiency of the Mean Green's attack. North Texas claimed their first lead of the day by hitting .500 through the set.
• Following a solo stuff by the Mean Green's Jordyn Williams that capped a 2-0 North Texas run and made matter, the home team never lost the lead for the remainder of the set.
• North Texas used a pair of 3-0 runs late in the set to make sure the Ladyjacks never drew closer than one point away from tying things up.
• Though both squads finished with 13 terminations, the Mean Green never committed an attack error. SFA, on the other hand, misfired six times and finished with an attack percentage of .273.
SET TWO | SFA 25, North Texas 21
• Unable to get their front-row defensive established in the opening frame, that was not a problem for the Ladyjacks in the second. SFA took the mean out of the Mean Green's attack in the second by accumulating a trio of rejections and limiting the home team to an attack percentage of .062.
• Peyton Redmond fired in one of SFA's nine service aces while Makenzee Hanna and Anyia Williams each turned in a solo block during the Ladyjacks' 8-3 run to begin the set.
• A 4-0 scoring spree culminating with a termination off the hand of Ann Hollas extended the visitors' lead to eight, 14-6, but a late push by the Mean Green made things interesting.
• Following Coleman's fourth and final kill of the set that made matters 21-16 in favor of SFA, North Texas scored five of the next six to cut the Ladyjacks' lead down to 22-21. Valerie Valerian punched down a kill and added a block assist for the hosts during the run before the hosts' attack misfired.
• SFA closed the set on a 3-0 run featuring a service ace from Hollas as well as a pair of North Texas attack errors to tie things up at one set apiece.
SET THREE | SFA 25, North Texas 22
• Three time in the middle set the Ladyjacks found themselves staring at a four-point deficit - including when Jordyn Williams' second termination of the set put North Texas up 21-17 - but on the strength of Anyia and Xariah Williams SFA turned the tide.
• Through SFA's 8-1 run to close the set, Anyia Williams put down a terminations while Xariah Williams added two more. In fact, five of SFA's 16 kills came during that set-clinching run.
• SFA's lone service ace of the set came during that scoring spree as well when Sabrina Monaco got the better of the Mean Green's Reagan Hubbard with a soft serve.
SET FOUR | North Texas 25, SFA 20
• Just like the visitors did in the third, North Texas made use of a sizable run - this one of the 8-2 variety - to make the Ladyjacks play a fifth set for the first time since November of 2017.
• SFA managed to erase a three-point lead by the Mean Green by receiving terminations from Xariah Williams and Hollas as well as a combo block by Daron and Xariah Williams as part of a 4-0 run that put the visitors up 18-17.
• Right after Daron's lone kill of the set pulled SFA back even at 20-20, Rhett Robinson almost single-handedly helped her squad push things to a fifth frame by pounding down a trio of terminations during the Mean Green's 5-0 run to end the set.
• Even though things were fairly even from an attack percentage standpoint (North Texas hit .303, SFA .296), the Mean Green executed their offense well down the stretch to provide the difference.
SET FIVE | SFA 15, North Texas 12
• Twice through the final set it appeared SFA was on the cusp of taking control for good, but North Texas fought back both times to provide those in attendance with an electrifying race to 15.
• Anyia Williams conjured up a kill and teamed with Hollas for a block assist which helped the visitors counter a 3-0 North Texas run with a 4-0 SFA scoring surge that put the visitors up 7-4.
• Coleman's second of three fifth-set kills provided the visitors with an 8-5 advantage at the turn but the Mean Green responded with four straight points to go up 9-8.
• In danger of suffering their first defeat since September 1, SFA instead fed the ball to Xariah Williams on the pin and the junior got the job done when it counted. She put SFA on top for good with consecutive terminations that made matters 11-10 and from there Hollas aced the Mean Green on back-to-back serves to make matters 13-9.
• North Texas again closed within one with a 3-0 run before Hanna helped SFA finish the job. The senior's final kill of the match preceded a North Texas attack error that represented the match-clinching point for the visitors.
• Coleman notched three of her terminations in the set and helped the Ladyjacks hit .304 as a unit.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• The key contributors of the Ladyjacks' front row stopping staff were Hanna and Anyia Williams. Both finished with six total blocks while the latter came up with a pair of solo stuffs to compliment her 10-kill effort.
• Once again, Xariah Williams came off the bench and gave the Ladyjacks a burst of offense just when they needed it most. All seven of her terminations and her block assist came in the final three sets of the match.
• Coleman led a well-rounded Ladyjack attack with 14 kills while Hanna finished with 13.
• Though Daron failed to reach double-digits in the termination department, the junior did post nine and came up big from the service line. She was one of two Ladyjacks who finished with a trio of service aces with Hollas being the other
• Hollas also dished out 35 assists while McKenzie Brewer accumulated 20 to go along with a pair of crafty dump kills that kept the Mean Green guessing.
• North Texas' attack was fueled by the play of Robinson who pounded down 24 kills - the highest number in a single match by an SFA opposing player this season. Valerian added 12 while Jordyn Williams punched in 11 terminations to go along with four rejections.
• Olivia Petnicki scooped up a team-high 14 digs to go along with her trio of service aces.
• The Ladyjacks' win over the Mean Green gave them consecutive wins against their Conference USA adversary for the first time since 2007-08 and represented SFA's first win in Denton since 2007.
COMING UP NEXT
• Following their dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Mean Green, the Ladyjacks have just a few hours to prepare for their final non-conference match of the regular season. SFA takes aim at a 10th-straight victory when it takes on SEC adversary Mississippi State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
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