Stephen F. Austin
8-0
Chicago State
4-9
SFA Continues to Roll, Takes Down Chicago State in Three Sets
9/21/2019 1:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Ladyjacks amass 12 blocks, hit .306 against Cougars
ARLINGTON, Texas - After watching senior Danae Daron put on one of the cleanest single-match offensive performances in program lore, the SFA volleyball team didn't need any Ladyjacks-best outings to get the job done Saturday afternoon. Instead, SFA used a more tradition balance of offense and defense to secure another non-conference triumph.
Senior Corin Evans led the way on offense with 11 kills, Taya Mitchell generated seven blocks in the front row and the Ladyjacks racked up 12 rejections as a team in order to help them dispatch Chicago State in three sets in the team's second of three matches at the UT-Arlington Maverick Invitational.
SET ONE | SFA 25, Chicago State 12
• Outside of consecutive kills to start the match, Chicago State posed few problems for the Ladyjacks in frame one as SFA came out with intentions of ending the match as quickly as possible.
• Trailing 2-0, SFA received two kills from Evans, another pair from Ann Hollas as well as a termination and a solo block courtesy of Mitchell during a 6-1 run that put the Ladyjacks up 6-3.
• After that run, SFA never trailed again and let its offense do the talking for the entirety of the frame. Xariah Williams generated five of the Ladyjacks' 14 terminations in the frame while SFA's defense held firm as well.
• Four of the Ladyjacks' 12 blocks in the match came in set one with Mitchell having a hand in two. Getting her first taste of collegiate action, freshman Kelsey Harrington joined forces with Ariana Pagan for a combo block during a 4-0 run by the Ladyjacks that ended the set.
• With SFA's strong defense aiding its efficient offense, Chicago State hit -.020 (eight kills, nine errors) through the first set of the match.
SET TWO | SFA 25, Chicago State 20
• Though the Ladyjacks never trailed in set two, they had to work a little harder in order to put the Cougars away.
• Evans, Hollas and Mitchell slammed home consecutive kills during a 5-0 Ladyjacks surge to start the set before Chicago State answered with a 6-3 run of its own to cut SFA's lead down to 8-6.
• Each run by the Cougars, however, was answered with one of SFA's own to make sure Chicago State never jumped in front. Things got interesting when, after an Alexandria Cliff attack error hiked SFA's edge to 19-13, Beatriz Palmieri led the Cougars on a 6-2 run with two kills which pulled Chicago State within two points (21-19) of SFA.
• Fortunately, SFA had the final say of things. Two more terminations from Evans as well as one from Mitchell helped the Ladyjacks end the frame on a 4-1 run to go up 2-0.
• Continuing to get better offensively as the match wore on, SFA hit at a clip of .314 through the middle frame and allowed Chicago State to operate at a rate of just .095.
SET THREE | SFA 25, Chicago State 18
• Another strong opening statement by SFA made sure Chicago State rarely threatened in the third and final set.
• Looming large at the front of the net during the Ladyjacks' 8-1 run to begin the final frame of the match was Mitchell who conjured up two blocks as well as two terminations. The service game of Pagan helped SFA end that early run as the freshmen served up consecutive aces to keep the Cougars off-balance.
• Midway through the match, Chicago State managed to shrink SFA's edge to 16-12 with a 3-1 run. Two unforced attack errors by the Cougars, however, helped SFA score four in a row to move ahead 20-12.
• Down the stretch it was junior Shelby Sheets who helped her squad finish off Chicago State. The San Antonio, Texas, product generated a trio of terminations during the Ladyjacks' 5-4 spurt to end the match.
• SFA's offense operated at a clip of .345 in set three while Chicago State's hit .071.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• A balanced offensive attack helped SFA keep Chicago State guessing. Evans led the way with a match-high 11 kills while Mitchell added six on a match-best .545 attack percentage.
• Mitchell's defense was another highlight as the junior totaled seven blocks. Elsewhere on offense, Williams added eight terminations while Hollas chipped in six of her own to compliment her 12 assists, five digs and four block assists.
• Helping run an SFA offense that hit .306 for the match, junior Margaret Dean finished with a 17-assist, 13-dig double-double while junior libero and reigning Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week Madelynn Miller totaled 12 digs and a pair of assists.
• Daron finished with two kills as well as three blocks which put her career total at 401. The Crosby, Texas, product became just the eighth player in the history of the program to reach the 400-block mark during Saturday morning's showdown.
• For the match, SFA hit .306 while the team's defensive numbers allowed Chicago State to attack a clip of only .042.
COMING UP NEXT
• At 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, the Ladyjacks will close out their regular season non-conference slate by duking it out with Maverick Invitational host UT-Arlington inside the College Park Center.
-SFA-
