Stephen F. Austin
6-2
Tennessee State
1-6
Hollas Notches Triple-Double in SFA's 3-1 Triumph over Tennessee State
9/7/2018 3:49:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Five Ladyjacks pound down 10 or more kills against Tigers
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Aside from one minor slip-up in the second set, the SFA volleyball team got its four-match schedule in The Fredonia Hotel/Holiday Inn Express SFA Invitational off to a splendid start.
Five Ladyjacks turned in 10 or more kills, SFA hit .384 and junior setter Ann Hollas pulled off a rare triple-double by amassing 10 terminations, 12 digs and a team-high 29 assists to help SFA turn back an upset-minded Tennessee State squad 3-1 inside Shelton Gym Friday afternoon.
SET ONE | SFA 25, Tennessee State 15
• With both teams seeking to keep the tempo fast, one-quarter of the point total in the opening set came as a direct result of service errors. Five of the Ladyjacks' first 13 points came from Tennessee State service miscues.
• Trailing 7-6, SFA took off on a 6-1 run fueled by two kills from Hollas and one each from Daron and Redmond. A combo block by Daron and Makenzee Hanna ended SFA's run and put the home team up 12-8.
• The Tigers were able to stay within five after Rachel Henderson connected for a kill that trimmed SFA's lead to 16-11, but that termination was the final offensive point Tennessee State would strike for in the frame.
• SFA closed the set on a 9-4 run and received kills from Coleman, Hollas and Redmond during the set-clinching surge. Tennessee State's only four points came due to four Ladyjack service errors.
SET TWO | Tennessee State 25, SFA 21
• Using two service aces and getting four free points from Ladyjack service errors, Tennessee State found itself able to claw back into things and tie the match at one set apiece.
• SFA managed to remain within one when Daron hammered down a kill that cut the Tigers' lead to 12-11 before Johanna Kruize almost single-handedly won the set for the visitors.
• Kruize pounded in four kills, served up an ace and teamed up with Henderson for a rejection during an 8-2 run by the Tigers which pushed their lead to 20-12.
• SFA out-hit the Tigers in terms of percentage (.243 to .190) in the set, but the run Kruize led the visitors on proved to be too much for the hosts to overcome.
SET THREE | SFA 25, Tennessee State 15
• Incensed that the Tigers had roared back to knot things up at one set each, the Ladyjacks made sure their foes from Tennessee would never pose a threat the rest of the way.
• Four players generated a kill, Hollas served up an ace and the Daron/Hanna tandem was credited with a pair of rejections during the Ladyjacks' 10-2 run to begin the penultimate set.
• SFA simply overpowered the Tigers in the frame, hitting an otherworldly .607 which featured 19 kills on 28 swings against only two errors. Daron totaled six of SFA's kills in the set while Coleman added five more.
SET FOUR | SFA 25, Tennessee State 16
• Before the Tigers could even think of trying to extend the match to five sets, SFA made sure there would be no chance of that. Seven unforced Tennessee State errors helped the Ladyjacks start the final set on a 14-3 run.
• Aside from a 4-0 surge which cut SFA's lead from 11 down to seven, Tennessee State gave the Ladyjacks little to worry. The Tigers hit only .026 and committed five unforced attack errors.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATS OF NOTE
• Though the Tigers' aggressive service style did manage to pull them even with the Ladyjacks early on, it hurt them through the match. Tennessee State out-aced SFA five-to-one but also committed 10 service errors and hit only .135.
• A big part of why the Tigers struggled offensively was because of SFA's strong front-row defense. Daron powered rejection row by finishing with a match-best seven block assists which tied a career high for the junior.
• Along with her high-powered defensive outing, Daron led a quintet of Ladyjacks who finished with double-digit kills. She pounded down 14 while Coleman added 12.
• Hanna turned in another four block assists which complimented her 11 terminations nicely. The senior hit at a match-best clip of .647 and did not commit an attack error.
• Hollas, Redmond and redshirt freshman Lauren Wright chipped in three block assists each while the first two individuals also added 10 kills to SFA's tally.
• Hollas became the first Ladyajck player in almost six years to turn in a triple-double effort. Prior to Friday night, the last SFA volleyball student-athlete to accomplish that feat was Paige Holland who knocked down 10 kills, dug 10 balls and dished out a match-high 49 assists in a five-set Southland Conference victory at Nicholls on Oct. 27, 2012.
• Senior McKenzie Brewer had a great rapport with Hollas and the rest of SFA's attackers all match long, too, by accumulating 19 assists to go along with nine digs.
• For Tennessee State, Julia Pierson generated almost half of the Tigers' 40 kills. Pierson turned in a match-best 16 terminations to go along with nine digs, two block assists, a service ace and an assist.
• Gina Rivera Ortiz dove for a match-high 17 digs and added four assists.
HEAR IT FROM HUMPHREYS
• On SFA's service style through the match | "We got away from serving aggressively and that's really what cost us a set. We went through a stretch in the first and second sets where we committed eight errors and that was what we focused on in between the second and third sets. Some of our servers stopped their hands mid-serve, leading to a lot of those errors. Once we recommitted to being the aggressors in the serve/receive game, we were just fine."
COMING UP NEXT
• SFA clashes with BIG EAST power St. John's in the day one finale of The Fredonia Hotel/Holiday Inn Express SFA Invitational. The Red Storm found itself on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision against Stetson in the opening match of the invite Friday morning and will be looking to bounce back against the Ladyjacks once first serve is in the air at 6:30 p.m.
-SFA-
