Stephen F. Austin
6-0
Northwestern
5-0
Ladyjacks Claim NU Under Armour Challenge Title by Shutting Down Northwestern
9/7/2019 9:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SFA secured program's second victory over Big Ten program
EVANSTON, Ill. - In the span of three days, the SFA volleyball knocked off a Big 12 opponent and a Big Ten foe in order to maintain their reputation as one of the nation's finest mid-major volleyball programs.
For just the second time in the history of the program the Ladyjacks got the better of a Big Ten opponent by frustrating Northwestern into 39 attack errors during a 3-1 victory over the Wildcats in the championship match of the Northwestern Under Armour Challenge.
SET ONE | SFA 25, Northwestern 18
• At no point in the opening frame did the Ladyajcks fall behind and by employing their usual brand of strong defense they made sure the Wildcats stayed off-balance.
• Freshman Ariana Pagan started the match with consecutive points - a kill followed by an ace - to put SFA up 2-0.
• Pagan's points represented one-third of SFA's total during its 6-3 run to begin the match. Although the Wildcats answered with 5-2 surge to knot matters at eight, SFA broke the tie for good when Taya Mitchell kick-started a 8-2 run with her first termination of the afternoon.
• Through that surge - one that pushed SFA's lead to 16-10 - Ann Hollas came through with two kills and a pair of blocks.
• SFA's pushed its lead to seven, 20-13, courtesy of a trio of Northwestern errors. The Wildcats closed within four points, 21-17, before SFA recovered to put their Big Ten foes away.
• Mitchell and Corin Evans turned in terminations during SFA's 4-1 run to end the set and two more unforced Northwestern miscues helped SFA finish.
• By coming up with four blocks, SFA's defense held strong and forced Northwestern into many uncomfortable situations on offense. As a result, the Wildcats hit just .073 in the frame while SFA operated at a clip of .219 on offense.
SET TWO | Northwestern 25, SFA 20
• In search of a 2-0 lead, the Ladyjacks made all the right moves early on before Northwestern was able to string together its offense on a consistent basis.
• Daron, Sheretta Hill and Mitchell each came up with a solo rejection through SFA's 10-7 run to begin the set but Nia Robinson led the Wildcats back.
• Robinson hammered home four kills through a 9-4 run by the home team to put SFA at a 16-14 disadvantage.
• Three times the Ladyjacks cut the Wildcats' lead to one, but SFA never could equalize or move ahead for the remainder of the set.
• Robinson added two more terminations through Northwestern's 5-2 run to end the set.
SET THREE | SFA 25, Northwestern 13
• Three unforced Northwestern attack errors and a solo block by Evans helped SFA regain control during a 6-2 run to begin the third frame.
• Another SFA run - this one of the 7-3 variety - pushed the Ladyjacks' lead to 13-7. Xariah Williams put down a kill and added a solo block while Margaret Dean served up an ace through that surge.
• Northwestern never posed much of a threat and committed a total of nine unforced attack errors during the frame.
SET FOUR | SFA 25, Northwestern 16
• With their sights focused on forcing a fifth set, the Wildcats took control early before the Ladyjacks wrested that control from their Big Ten adversaries.
• Northwestern started the set on a 13-10 run, but SFA countered with a match-clinching 15-3 run to secure the win.
• A termination by Temi Thomas-Ailara pulled the Wildcats within one, 17-16, but SFA scored the final eight points of the match to finish off the emphatic win.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• SFA didn't need to put up any kind of otherworldly offensive numbers to lock up the win. The Ladyjacks, rather, relied on their defense to get the job done.
• Northwestern was allowed to hit just .083 as SFA racked up 17 blocks and forced a total of 39 attack errors by the Wildcats.
• Daron finished with six blocks while Hollas and Mitchell racked up four apiece. Hollas complimented her blocking total with 12 assists and seven digs.
• Northwestern received a match-high 18 kills from Thomas-Ailara while Robinson chipped in 14.
• Daron, Dean and Evans earned spots on the All-Tournament Team while Evans was named the MVP.
COMING UP NEXT
• Still undefeated, the Ladyjacks will put their flawless record on the line again on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. when they face Arkansas State in the opening match of the Arkansas State Invitational.
-SFA-
