Ladyjacks Sweep Day One of Bearkat Invitational

Friday, August 30

Huntsville, TX

12:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

1-0,0-0Southland

University of the Incarnate Word

0-1,0-0Southland

UIW

SFA

Photo by: Amanda Paver

Ladyjacks Sweep Day One of Bearkat Invitational

8/30/2024 7:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

HUNTSVILLE, Texas- The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Volleyball Team (2-0) opened their season at the Sam Houston Tournament with wins against Incarnate Word (0-1) and Prairie View A&M (0-2).

Game 1: SFA 3, UIW 0

Following a brief 8-6 lead for the Cardinals in the opening set, the Ladyjacks roared back with a 6-1 scoring run highlighted by a service ace from Jayden Flynn and kills from Tanishua Joseph and Caroline Kahle to take a 12-9 lead. The 'Jacks rolled onto another 5-1 scoring run midway into the first set thanks to kills from Katherine Holtman, Izabella Ortiz, and Caroline Kahle to take a 17-12 lead. The remainder of the opening set saw the both teams exchange points at an even rate as the Ladyjacks maintained a minimum three-point lead the rest of the set and closed out the win in set one with a bad set point and took an early 1-0 lead.

The Cardinals would find their groove offensively as they would embark on a 5-1 scoring run to open the second set to hold a 9-5 lead early. SFA would answer back with a 4-1 scoring run of their own thanks to an ace by Natalie Guerrero and kills by Katherine Holtman and Izabella Ortiz to trim the Cardinals lead down to one at 13-12. The next 10 points of the set were dominated by the Ladyjacks as they exploded for an 8-2 scoring run highlighted by a pair of kills by Kyanna Creecy and another service ace from Jayden Flynn to launch themselves ahead 20-16. SFA would end the set on another majority scoring run as they would end the second set on a 5-2 scoring run to claim a 25-19 set two win and a 2-0 lead over the Cardinals.

The third set saw the Cardinals roar out to an early 6-3 lead over SFA. The Ladyjacks, however, once again would refuse to back down as they went on a 4-1 scoring run shortly after thanks to three kills by Izabella Ortiz to knot the score at seven points apiece. Midway through the third set, the Ladyjack offense showed off how potent this offense can be once again as they would explode for a 6-1 scoring run highlighted by another three kills from Izabella Ortiz to hold a 17-13 lead over UIW. The Cardinals trimmed the SFA lead down to 22-19 late in the third set. However, the Ladyjacks wanted to start their season off with a bang and did just that as they closed out the set with a 3-0 set clinching run capped off with an Izabella Ortiz kill to give SFA the clean 3-0 sweep of UIW in their season opening match.

Top Players of the Match:

Izabella Ortiz: 13 kills (led team), 13.5 points (led team), .476 hitting percentage
Katherine Holtman: 10 kills, 10.5 points, .500 hitting percentage (led team)
Jayden Flynn: 19 assists (led team), two service aces (led team), four digs
Natalie Guerrero: 15 digs (tied team lead), two assists, one service ace
Camryn Hill: 15 digs (tied team lead), four kills, one assist
Sophia Wilson: 17 assists, four digs

Game 2: SFA 3, Prairie View 0

The first set of the second game of the doubleheader saw the Lady Panthers start with a quick 6-2 opening run. The Ladyjacks would respond with the next five points to take a one-point lead before Prairie View responded with three more of their own to hold a 9-7 lead. The 'Jacks kept the pressure offensively by ripping off a 10-2 scoring run to take a 17-12 lead midway through the set. With SFA maintaining a slim 20-18 lead late in the first set, the 'Jacks clinched the win with a closing 5-1 scoring run capped off by a block split between Katherine Holtman and Molly Cravens to give SFA the 1-0 lead.

The second set of the doubleheader saw SFA grab the fast start this time as they jumped out to an early 7-3 lead. The two schools exchanged points with SFA still leading 11-8 before a 5-2 scoring run by Prairie View knotted the score at 13 apiece midway through the second set. SFA and PVAMU continued to exchange blows until SFA went on a 4-0 run to take a 21-16 lead. The Ladyjacks would finish the set on a 4-2 run and take a 2-0 set lead after a service ace from Jayden Flynn.

SFA went into the third set looking for their second sweep of the day. The 'Jacks jumped out to an early 8-4 lead and later went on a four-point scoring run which included two kills from freshman Molly Cravens as SFA held a 14-7 lead. The two team exchanged points for the rest of the set, but the Ladyjack offense was too much for the Panthers. Four of the 'Jacks final five points of the set included two kills from Izabella Ortiz, one from Camryn Hill, and one from Kyanna Creecy. An attack error by the Panthers gave SFA a 25-17 third set victory and clinched the 'Jacks second sweep of the day.

Top Players of the Match:

Izabella Ortiz: nine kills (tied team lead), 10.5 points
Molly Cravens: nine kills (tied team lead), 11.5 points (tied team lead), five blocks
Kyanna Creecy: seven kills, .545 hitting percentage (team lead), six blocks (team lead)
Jayden Flynn: 15 assists (team lead), two service aces (tied team lead)
Camryn Hill: 16 digs (team lead), two service aces (tied team lead), seven kills

The Ladyjacks will be back in action tomorrow Saturday, August 31st to close out the Sam Houston tournament when they get to battle the host Bearkats in a Saturday matinee matchup. Start time for tomorrow's match is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CST. You can follow all the action with live stats provided on the SFA Athletics Website, as well as follow along on the SFA Volleyball social media accounts for all the game updates.