Stephen F. Austin
3-0
UTSA
1-1
SFA Upends UTSA, 3-1, Behind Strong All-Around Performance
8/30/2019 2:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Ladyjacks frustrate Roadrunners' offense, total 12 blocks in 27th-straight regular season win
DALLAS - Boasting 10 new faces among its ranks entering the 2019 season, the SFA volleyball team faced more than its fair share of roster turnover from a 2018 campaign that ranked among the best in program history. It also left folks wondering what to expect from that group once they joined up with the Ladyjacks' strong core of returners.
Following the events of Friday morning, that combination proved to be able to get the job done.
Senior Danae Daron pounded down a team-high 13 kills and added four blocks, junior Taya Mitchell totaled eight terminations and six rejections and three Ladyjacks finished with double-doubles to help SFA take down in-state adversary UTSA 3-1 in the opening match of the SMU Doubletree Invitational.
The win - SFA's second-straight season opening triumph and its 27th consecutive regular season victory - was highlighted by a strong defensive effort in which many of the team's new pieces showed out.
SET ONE | SFA 25, UTSA 20
• Back-and-forth play was the theme early on in the season opener before the Roadrunners made use of Hannah Lopez and a strong service run to open up a five-point lead.
• With things all square at five, Lopez hammered home three kills and Jenna Patton served up consecutive aces during an 8-3 surge by UTSA which put SFA at a 13-8 disadvantage.
• Thanks to the play of Corin Evans, the Ladyjacks started a run of their own which put them on top for good. The senior slammed home a pair of kills during an 8-2 scoring spree by the Ladyjacks which culminated with a termination from Daron.
• UTSA managed to to make things interesting by scoring three uncontested points to trim SFA's lead to 24-20.
• In order to stop the Roadrunners' 3-0 surge, the Ladyjacks turned to junior Sheretta Hill. Out of SFA's timeout, Hill checked in for the first time and pounded down a set-clinching termination.
SET TWO | UTSA 29, SFA 27
• Carrying over their strong finish from the inaugural set of the season, SFA recorded 10 of the first 14 points of the frame to take control early.
• Through their initial surge, the Ladyjacks received an ace and a kill from Evans as well as two more terminations off the mitts of Daron.
• As the set wore on, however, UTSA continued to chip away. Powered by the play of Brianna McCulloch, the Roadrunners managed to come all the way back and even things up.
SET THREE | SFA 25, UTSA 14
• Bouncing back nicely, the Ladyjacks made use of a strong attack on offense to retake the lead.
• Mitchell turned into one of the focal points of SFA's offense and helped the Ladyjacks take control once again.
• In all, SFA hit .303 in the frame and frustrated UTSA's offensive attack through the set. The Roadrunners put up an attack percentage of just .098 and generated only nine terminations.
SET FOUR | SFA 25, UTSA 17
• Imposing her will on the Roadrunners in the final frame, Mitchell took control down the stretch to lock down the Ladyjacks' first win of 2019.
• During the course of a 6-0 Ladyjack run that upped SFA's lead from two to eight, the junior struck for a pair of kills and added a block assist.
• The Ladyjacks' offense peaked in the fourth as the squad hit .316 while committing just a pair of errors.
• Three of SFA's eight service aces occurred in the set, too, as Daron, Margaret Dean and Hollas each put one down.
KEY PERFORMERS
• Funneling the most potent parts of their offense through the middle, the Ladyjacks watched as Daron and Mitchell combined for 21 of the squad's 52 terminations in the opener. Daron put down a team-best 13 kills while Mitchell finished with eight to go along with six blocks (two solo, four assisted).
• Evans, Margaret Dean and Ann Hollas turned in double-doubles during the Ladyjacks' second-straight season-opening victory. Running a two-setter system, SFA watched Hollas go for a team-high 22 assists to go along with 12 digs while Dean finished with 20 assists and 11 digs for the first double-double of her collegiate career.
• Evans was one of two Ladyjacks who finished with double-digits kills. The senior totaled 10 to go along with 14 digs.
• Madelynn Miller and Ariana Pagan ended the match with 17 and 16 digs respectively in their SFA debuts.
• For the Roadrunners, McCulloch ended with a match-high 23 terminations while Kirby Smith chipped in 12.
• SFA generated 12 blocks and limited the Roadrunners to an attack percentage of just .165.
COMING UP NEXT
• SFA takes aim at its second-straight 2-0 start when the Ladyjacks tangle with Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley at 5:00 p.m. Friday afternoon inside Moody Coliseum.
-SFA-
