Ladyjacks Survive and Advance After a Five-Set Thriller Against Huskies

Friday, November 22

Hammond, LA

10:00 a.m.

Stephen F. Austin

23-7,14-2Southland

Houston Christian University

11-17,8-8Southland

Houston Christian

SFA

Ladyjacks Survive and Advance After a Five-Set Thriller Against Huskies

11/22/2024 4:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Amanda Paver, SFA Assistant Director for Strategic Communications

NACGDOCHES, Texas- The Stephen F. Austin volleyball team (23-7, 14-2 SLC) began their Southland Conference Tournament run with a matchup with no. six seeded HCU Huskies (11-17, 8-8 SLC) on Friday morning.

Harley Krause recorded her first collegiate start in today's match and got the 'Jacks on the board with the first kill, 1-0. From that point on both teams traded blows until HCU went on a 6-1 run to take a 9-5 lead early. SFA went on a three-point run to tie the match up at 11 of a kill from SLC Freshman of the Year, Katherine Holtman. Later the 'Jacks went on a four-point spurt which included a kill from Caroline Kahle and Holtman, and back-to-back aces from Sophia Wilson, 16-13. Both teams were successful in siding out and kept the rest of the match close, but SFA was able to get back-to-back points to secure a 25-23 first set victory.

HCU started out the second set on fire as they jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Huskies continued to hold a three-to-four-point advantage for the rest of the set as both teams traded points. The 'Jacks cut the lead down to two, but it was too little too late as the Huskies secured a 25-22 second set victory to tie the match up at one set apiece.

The Huskies started out the third set in a similar fashion to the second as they jumped out to an early 4-1 lead. SFA then went on a mini run to tie the set up at five and then took a slim 7-6 lead off a kill from Molly Cravens. The Ladyjacks rattled off five points in a row to extend their lead 12-7. SFA continued to dominate the third set with a 5-1 run that included two kills from Krause and one from Holtman, 17-9. HCU slowly got back into the match as they cut the lead down to 21-18. Kyanna Creecy put the team on her back at the end of the set as SFA finished on a 3-2 lead with all three points were kills from Creecy. SFA retook the match lead 2-1 with a 25-21 third set victory.

Both teams traded three-point runs early in the fourth set as HCU held a slim 4-3 lead. SFA later went on a 4-1 run to take a 9-7 lead off an ace from Kahle. Krause recorded a kill later in the set to put the 'Jacks up 12-9, but then HCU came storming back with a four-point spurt that gave the Huskies a 13-12 lead. The dominance did not stop there as HCU went on a 6-0 run to take a commanding 20-15 lead late in the set. SFA was able to cut the lead down to two, 23-21, but HCU once again tied the match up by winning the fourth set by a score of 25-21.

As the 'Jacks headed into their fifth five-set match of the season, SFA jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The 'Jacks did not take their foot off the gas as they had another five-point run to take a commanding 10-1 lead in the fifth set. A kill and an ace from Holtman brought the 'Jacks lead up to double digits, 13-3. Cravens ended the match for the Ladyjacks with a kill as SFA won the fifth set, 15-5.

Top Players of the Match:

• Harley Krause: 17 kills (led team & career high), .412 attack percentage, seven digs (career high)
• Katherine Holtman: 16 kills, two aces, four blocks
• Kennedy Jones: 14 kills, eight digs, three blocks
• Kyanna Creecy: 10 kills, .600 attack percentage (led team), six blocks (led team)
• Jayden Flynn: 34 assists (led team), passed 2,000 career assists mark
• Natalie Guerrero: 21 digs (led team)

SFA will face no. 2 seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, November 23rd at 2:00 p.m. with a trip to the SLC Tournament Final on the line.

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