Stephen F. Austin
23-2,11-1Southland
Houston Baptist
15-12,7-5Southland
Evans' 20 Kills Help Ladyjacks Stay Perfect in Southland Play with 3-1 Win at HBU
11/2/2019 3:55:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Senior becomes first Ladyjack in 13 years to notch consecutive matches with 20+ kills
HOUSTON - Houston? It had a problem.
Putting the finishing touches on the best two-match stretch of her career, the senior outside hitter submitted her second-consecutive 20-kill, 16-dig double-double which helped lift rv SFA to a hard-fought 3-1 win over a scrappy Houston Baptist squad inside Sharp Gymnasium.
For the third consecutive match, SFA needed a comeback to help extend its 17-match winning streak as the Ladyjacks dropped the opening set to the Huskies before bouncing back and winning the next three. Evans, for her part, became the first Ladyjacks to post back-to-back 20-kill matches in 13 years to help the Southland's best team continue its perfect run through league play.
SET ONE | Houston Baptist 25, rv SFA 22
• Seemingly in control of the set after a combo block by Danae Daron and Neena Perdue lifted their lead to 20-16, the Ladyjacks fell victim to a huge comeback by the Huskies and dropped their opening frame for the third consecutive match.
• Houston Baptist ended the frame on a 9-2 run to take the early lead and the Huskies poured in five of their 14 kills in the set through that surge. Those three kills came from three individuals, but it was Morgan Dewyer who primarily powered the run with a pair of terminations as well as the Huskies' lone service ace of the set.
• SFA's offense was never able to operate in as efficient manner as it would have liked as the Ladyjacks hit only .048. Houston Baptist didn't fare much better, but its .150 attacking clip got the job done.
SET TWO | rv SFA 25, Houston Baptist 19
• Not wanting to fall behind two sets to none, the Ladyjacks set the tone early on with a 6-1 run. Xariah Williams generated two of SFA's four kills through that surge and Houston Baptist was never able to grab the lead after SFA's initial run.
• Until the middle portion of the set, SFA kept the Huskies at arms length. That changed when the hosts went to Ashtyn Richey who led Houston Baptist on a 5-1 run. Richey pounded down three consecutive terminations and generated four during the Huskies' surge that cut SFA's lead to 16-15.
• Out of their timeout, the Ladyjacks righted the ship by scoring four in a row to go back up by five. Evans started that scoring spree with a kill while Margaret Dean put an end to it with one of her three aces on the afternoon.
• Even though SFA managed to stop the Huskies' run, Houston Baptist never folded. A solo block by Megan Patillo pulled HBU within three, 22-19, before SFA went to its offense to tie things up.
• Terminations by Ann Hollas, Williams and Ariana Pagan ended the set and that late surge of offense was a small part of SFA's big improvement in terms of offense. The Ladyjacks hit .282 in the frame and committed only three errors after racking up nine in the first set.
SET THREE | rv SFA 25, Houston Baptist 21
• Though it may not have seemed like it at the time, the Ladyjacks needed each and every point of their early 12-3 run in the third to stave off a strong comeback bid by the Huskies.
• Dean and Mulder kept the Huskies' off-balance in the receive game by serving up one ace apiece during SFA's big run to start the frame. The Huskies did themselves no favor through that surge, too, by committing four unforced attack errors.
• At the midway point of the SFA, a Daron termination pushed SFA's lead to 17-10 but right after that Houston Baptist woke up. Mikayla Vivens and Richey pounded down two kills apiece while Ebonie Ballesteros added a pair of blocks as the Huskies took off on a 7-1 run to cut SFA's lead to 18-17.
• A 3-0 SFA run capped by another service ace from Dean stopped the Huskies' surge, but Kelly Colwell came up with two kills and a block assist during a 3-0 response by Houston Baptist to pull it within 22-21.
• Once again, a 3-0 run by the Ladyjacks ended things. Hollas and Daron came up with kills before teaming up for a set-clinching block on Vivens. Neither team hit above .150 in the set, but five of the Huskies' eight attack errors in the set were of the unforced variety to help SFA take a 2-1 lead.
SET FOUR | rv SFA 25, Houston Baptist 17
• After watching Houston Baptist make things interesting through each of the first three sets, the Ladyjacks had finally had enough of that and never let up control through the final frame.
• Two kills each from Evans and Pagan helped SFA start the set on a 9-2 run. Powering a 5-2 run later in the frame was Evans who accumulated four kills through that stretch which pushed SFA's lead to 20-12.
• Houston Baptist did manage to get within five points when Patillo and Vivens teamed up for a block to cap a 3-0 surge that trimmed SFA's lead to 22-17, but for the third-straight set SFA scored the last three points of the set to finish off the Huskies.
• Evans' 20th kill of the afternoon came in SFA's 3-0 run to end the set - and the match - while Daron and Pagan teamed up for SFA's eighth and final block of the match for Saturday's final point.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Nearly 40-percent (38.5-percent) of the Ladyjacks' 52 kills came courtesy of Evans who was the lone Ladyjack that went for double-digit kills. With her back-to-back 20-kill outings, Evans becomes the first SFA player to spring for 20 or more terminations in consecutive matches since 2006 when Lauren Railey went off for 23 in a five-set win over Texas State and 23 in a five-set win at SMU.
• Hollas finished three kills shy of a triple-double and had to settle for a double-double with 26 assists and 14 digs.
• Miller continued to prove why she's the best libero in the Southland by scooping up a match-high 26 digs to pace all players inside Sharp Gym Saturday afternoon.
• Daron finished with nine kills while racking up five blocks - the same amount as Taya Mitchell.
• Richey (14), Colwell (12) and Vivens (11) were the three Huskies who put up double-digit kills while Colwell and Vivens completed double-doubles with 18 and 20 digs respectively.
• SFA held Houston Baptist to a hitting percentage of .104 while extending its winning streak to 17 matches.
• The Ladyjacks' 24 wins are tied with 23rd-ranked Western Kentucky for the most in the nation. Additionally, the Ladyjacks and Hilltoppers also possess the nation's best winning percentage with identical marks of .960.
COMING UP NEXT
• The Ladyjacks continue their three-match road trip through the state of Texas next week with another pair of road matches. First up next week is a journey to Corpus Christi, Texas, where SFA will put its 17-match winning streak on the line against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi who is unbeaten in its last eight. First serve in the Dugan Wellness Center is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening.
-SFA-
