Stephen F. Austin
4-0
SMU
2-1
Hollas' Triple-Double Helps Ladyjacks Take Down SMU in Five
8/31/2019 5:37:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SFA claims SMU Doubletree Invitational title, remains perfect in 2019
DALLAS - Facing its first five-set test of the young 2019 season, the SFA volleyball team grabbed the lead just one time in the deciding final frame.
Once they had it, they didn't let go.
Falling behind 8-3 early on in the fifth, a never-say-die attitude took over the Ladyjacks' bench leading to SFA breaking a 13-13 deadlock with a combo block by Ann Hollas and Taya Mitchell. From there, the former put the finishing touches on her squad's second consecutive 3-0 start by punching down her 13th kill which gave the Ladyjacks a thrilling 3-2 win over SMU Saturday afternoon inside Moody Coliseum.
Hollas, who took home SMU Doubletree Invitational Most Valuable Player honors, submitted her first triple-double of the season by going for 13 kills, 24 assists and 10 digs and
SET ONE | SFA 26, SMU 24
• Taking aim at their second-straight 3-0 start to a season, the Ladyjacks ran their offense to perfection through the initial frame.
• Racking up a total of 17 terminations in the set, SFA shredded SMU's defense while doing just enough on defense to keep the Mustangs at bay down the stretch.
• Back-and-forth play was the theme of the set as the teams found themselves tied on 15 separate occasions. After junior Sheretta Hill pounded down a kill to make matters 17-17, SFA followed with three more points to open up a seemingly insurmountable 20-17 lead.
• SMU, however, battled back. Facing set point on two occasions, the Mustangs conjured up back-to-back kills by Kaylyn Winkler and Hannah Jacobs to tie things at 24.
• SFA's trump card in the set came in the form of senior Danae Daron who came up with a kill and teamed up with Hill to notch a set-clinching block that handed SFA its first lead of the match.
SET TWO | SMU 25, SFA 20
• Though the Ladyjacks battled valiantly, SMU's early lead proved to be too much to overcome. The Mustangs were rolling early and jumped out to a 13-6 lead.
• A termination from Mekenzi Heckmann pushed the hosts' lead to 17-10 before SFA was finally able to string together some points.
• Another kill from Hill kick-started a 4-0 Ladyjack scoring spree before the Mustangs reeled off four consecutive points of their own to go back up by seven.
• Hollas pulled SFA within three, 23-20, by pounding down a termination off of an assist from Margaret Dean, but SMU answered with consecutive terminations to tie the match at one set each.
SET THREE | SFA 25, SMU 12
• Bouncing back in a big way, the Ladyjacks made sure SMU presented no threat whatsoever as SFA retook the lead.
• Right after Lily Heim knotted the frame at five apiece with a termination, the Ladyjacks ramped up the intensity a notch or two on both offense and defense. Going on a 9-2 run that featured kills from four players as well as a pair of rejections, SFA opened up a 14-7 lead and never looked back.
• It was the Ladyjacks' front-row defense that shined bright as they totaled six blocks in order to keep the Mustangs off-balance. Back-to-back rejections from Daron and Evans as well as Daron and Hill hiked SFA's lead to 20-9, effectively ending the set.
• Thanks to their strong defense, the Ladyjacks forced the Mustangs to hit -.023 - nine kills against 10 errors - in the lopsided frame. SFA's offense, conversely, operated at a .300 clip.
SET FOUR | SMU 25, SFA 18
• Asserting themselves once again, the Mustangs continued to show their ability to bounce back.
• SMU started the frame on a 15-6 run and rarely let up in order to force a deciding fifth frame.
• The Mustangs hit at a .341 clip in the frame - their best single-set attack percentage of the afternoon.
• Daron struck for another termination and an SMU attack error helped SFA pull within three, 18-15, but the Mustangs were able to regroup and tie the score once again.
SET FIVE | SFA 15, SMU 13
• Things looked grim for the visitors as a trio of unforced errors and an SMU block helped the Mustangs open up an 8-3 lead. After the turn, it was the Mustangs who started to become error-prone and that allowed the Ladyjacks to creep back into things.
• SMU committed three consecutive miscues and following a termination from Williams the Ladyjacks had closed to within one, 8-7. Back-to-back rejections from SMU, however, helped the home team get to 10 points first.
• SFA knotted matters at 10 before consecutive kills by SMU's Hannah Jacobs and Rachel Woulfe gave the hosts the upper hand again.
• A kill by SMU's Kaylyn Winkler put the Mustangs just two points away from victory, but SFA refused to back down. Xariah Williams started SFA's game and match-clinching 3-0 run with her 13th and final termination before Hollas teamed with Mitchell for the block that handed SFA its first lead of the set.
• Following Hollas' kill that sealed up the win, SFA found that it had held the Mustangs' offense to an attacking clip of just .038 in the frame.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• While Hollas' triple-double represented the best statistical line of the afternoon for SFA, it was far from the only standout performance.
• Dean (24 assists, 17 digs) and Williams (13 kills, 17 digs) finished with double-doubles and helped SFA's defense put up its best match in the early stages of 2019.
• With Dean, Williams and Madelynn Miller (a team-high 26 digs) setting the tone in terms of floor defense, SFA's front-row players strutted their stuff time and time again as well.
• Mitchell finished with 10 kills and a career-high nine blocks while Daron and Hollas totaled seven rejections apiece.
• In all, SFA accumulated 16 blocks and held SMU to an attacking clip of just .184 for the match.
• For their efforts, Daron and Mitchell joined Hollas on the SMU Doubletree Invitational All-Tournament Team.
COMING UP NEXT
• The Windy City is the destination for the Ladyjacks as they continue their stretch of 13 consecutive road or neutral-site matches to begin the 2019 campaign. SFA begins a four-match stretch in Chicago, Ill., Thursday evening at 5:00 p.m. when they battle Missouri Conference adversary Loyola-Chicago.
-SFA-
