Stephen F. Austin
10-0
Incarnate Word
4-11
SFA Stops UIW's Late Surge, Sweeps Cardinals to Stay Perfect in Southland Play
9/28/2019 3:24:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Senior one of two Ladyjacks who finish with double-doubles in seventh-straight win
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Upon entering the list of teams either ranked or receiving votes on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division I Coaches Poll earlier this week, the SFA volleyball team learned quickly it will get everyone's best shot from here on out.
After cruising past visiting Incarnate Word in the opening two sets, the Ladyjacks found themselves in a furious fight with the Cardinals in the third and final frame. At the end, however, SFA strung together points when it mattered most to dodge the Cardinals' bid for a fourth set and claimed a second-straight 3-0 Southland Conference victory inside Shelton Gym.
SET ONE | SFA 25, Incarnate Word 17
• The only lead the Cardinals enjoyed through the first two sets of play came when Carissa McGarity generated a kill for the first point of the match. After that kill, however, SFA quickly took control.
• Taya Mitchell and Xariah Williams posted two kills apiece during a 16-5 scoring spree by the Ladyjacks. Through that run, the Cardinals committed two of their eight service errors while Ann Hollas posted the first of her three service aces.
• Ahead 16-6, SFA was forced to fend off a 4-1 Incarnate Word run that cut its lead to 21-14 late in the frame. Two more service errors by the visitors helped the Ladyjacks remain in control as did Williams' third termination of the set which served as the final point of the frame.
• SFA did it with offense in set one, hitting .375 while the Cardinals finished with an attack percentage of .000 after committing just as many attack errors as kills (eight).
SET TWO | SFA 25, Incarnate Word 18
• Two more terminations from Hollas coupled with a pair of unforced attack errors by the Cardinals helped the Ladyjacks leap out to a 4-1 lead in the middle frame.
• Incarnate Word creeped within one point, 6-5, before SFA hit the Cardinals with a 7-1 run to go up 13-6. Williams added another two kills during that surge while senior Danae Daron came up with her lone service ace of the match.
• That run gave the Ladyjacks all the separation they needed to hold off the Cardinals. An SFA service error and an attack error by the hosts helped Incarnate Word get within three points, 15-12, but Corin Evans came up with a kill and a block assist during SFA's 4-1 run that made matters 19-13.
• SFA saw its offensive numbers dip slightly in the second as the Ladyjacks hit .214, but with the Cardinals swinging at a clip of .051 it mattered not.
SET THREE | SFA 25, Incarnate Word 22
• Tired of trailing the Ladyjacks, the Cardinals used the power of three Bethany Clapp kills as well as two service aces courtesy of Cameron Taylor to jump out to a 7-2 lead early on.
• Channeling their game plan through Hollas, the Ladyjacks answered with an 11-3 run to capture the lead for good. SFA's do-it-all senior contributed a trio of kills, a service ace and dished out assists on three other SFA terminations during that surge which put the home team ahead 13-10.
• Though the Ladyjacks owned a 13-10 edge following that run, the Cardinals were far from finished. Incarnate Word kept things close and pulled within one point on four separate occasions down the stretch before SFA was finally able to slam the door on the Alamo City squad's upset bid.
• Back-to-back terminations from Clapp and Presley Blaylock cut the Ladyjacks' lead to 20-19, but Hollas fed Ariana Pagan for a kill that kick-started a 4-0 run by SFA. Hollas and Mitchell teamed up for the last of SFA's 10 blocks through the run while Margaret Dean added the last of the Ladyjacks' five service aces.
• Incarnate Word made things interesting by answering with a 3-0 run of its own before Hollas pounded down her 12th and final kill to end it.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Showing every weapon in her arsenal, Hollas put up an impressive state line of 12 kills (a match-high), 13 assists, six digs, five blocks and three of the Ladyjacks' five service aces.
• Dean also entered double-double territory by passing out a match-best 20 assists to go along with 11 digs, a service ace and one kill.
• Pagan put on a show in the back row, too, finishing with a team-high 14 digs which were complimented by four kills and a trio of block assists.
• Evans and Williams wrapped up their respective afternoons with seven terminations apiece while the former chipped in 12 digs. Playing against her former team, Maddie Miller was one of four Ladyjacks who posted double-digits digs as she finished with 12.
• Clapp came alive in the third set, pounding down nine of her 12 kills in that frame alone.
• Blaylock came up with a 19-assist, 12-dig double-double, but that was not enough against an SFA defensive unit that amassed 10 blocks - seven of which came from Mitchell.
• SFA stretched its winning streak to seven matches while extending its run of victories in Southland Conference regular season matches to 19 dating back to 2017. Additionally, SFA recorded its 17th-consecutive win inside Shelton Gym.
COMING UP NEXT
• Another road trip looms for the Ladyjacks as they'll participate in Southland Conference action away from Shelton Gym for the first time this season next week. Beaumont, Texas, is SFA's first stop on its stretch of three consecutive road matches and Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. the Ladyjacks will take on Lamar inside McDonald Gym.
-SFA-
