Ladyjacks Reign Victorious in the Battle of the Pineywoods; Three Named to All-Tournament Team

Saturday, August 31

Huntsville, TX

3:30 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

3-0,0-0Southland

Sam Houston

1-2,0-0CUSA

SFA

Sam Houston

Photo by: Amanda Paver

Ladyjacks Reign Victorious in the Battle of the Pineywoods; Three Named to All-Tournament Team

8/31/2024 7:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE, Texas- The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Volleyball Team (3-0) closed out the Bearkat Invitational with a 3-1 win over the host Sam Houston Bearkats (1-2) as the Ladyjacks

The first set of the final game of the Bearkat Invitational for SFA saw Sam jump out to an early 5-2 lead. However, that lead would not last long as the Ladyjacks promptly responded with a 7-1 scoring run highlighted by a pair of kills from Molly Cravens to launch SFA ahead 9-6. The first set remained a tightly contested affair as midway through the first set Sam held a slim 16-13 lead, which they extended to a 20-18 lead late in the first set. However, the Ladyjacks showed relentless fight as they refused to back down and ended the first set on a 7-2 scoring run to storm back and claim a 25-22 win thanks to three kills from Camryn Hill and a pair of kills from Katherine Holtman to take the 1-0 lead.

SFA picked up the second set right where they let off in the first one as they exploded for an early 7-0 lead thanks to a pair of service aces from Jayden Flynn. With SFA still maintaining a 10-4 lead, they kept their foot on the gas and were able to extend their lead to a commanding 15-5 lead midway through the second set thanks to a 5-1 scoring run highlighted with a pair of Izabella Ortiz kills. Late in the first set the Bearkats would embark on a 5-1 scoring run of their own to try and mount a late comeback over SFA, however, the Ladyjacks slammed the door shut on Sam Houston as they would finish the second set on a similar note as they began the set with as they would explode for a 5-0 set clinching run capped off with a kill by Katherine Holtman to give SFA the 2-0 lead.

The third set saw SFA open the set with a 6-3 scoring run thanks to a pair of kills from Katherine Holtman. Sam went on a six-point run to take an 11-8 lead over the 'Jacks and continued to ride the momentum with another five-point run to make the score 16-9 in favor of the Bearkats. The Sam lead was too much for the Ladyjacks to overcome as the Bearkats pulled away with a 25-15 third set victory.

SFA went into the fourth set looking for revenge and jumped out to an early 6-2 lead thanks to a pair of kills from Kyanna Creecy and Katherine Holtman. Sam continued to chip away at the SFA lead and eventually pulled ahead 9-8. The Ladyjacks fought back with two three-point spurts to take a 14-11 lead. The Bearkats fought back and tied the game at 17. SFA took a 21-18 lead off of a kill by Izabella Ortiz. SFA led 24-22 and were ready to wrap up their final game of the weekend, but SHSU went on a three-point run to send us to extras with the score 25-24 in favor of the Bearkats. Back-to-back kills from Holtman and Caroline Kahle gave SFA a second match point. However, the Bearkats won two points in a row to retake the lead 27-26. SFA also won back-to-back points to take a 28-27 lead. Sam tied it back up at 28, but the Ladyjacks would put the game away with back-to-back points capped off by a kill from Camryn Hill as they won the fourth set 30-28.

Top Players of the Match:

Katherine Holtman: 14 kills (team lead), .300 hitting percentage (team lead), 4 blocks (tied team lead)
Jayden Flynn: 27 assists (team lead), 17 digs
Caroline Kahle: 9 kills, 21 digs (team lead)
Izabella Ortiz: 4 blocks (tied team lead)
Natalie Guerrero: 20 digs

After the conclusion of the match, the Bearkat Invitational All-Tournament team was announced. Jayden Flynn was named MVP and Camryn Hill and Caroline Kahle both earned spots on the All-Tournament Team. Flynn finished the weekend with 61 assists (6.10 assists per set) and six service aces. Hill recorded 23 kills (2.30 kills per set), and 42 digs (4.20 digs per set). Kahle recorded 17 kills (1.70 kills per set), four service aces, and 34 digs (3.40 per set).

The Ladyjacks will return home to the Pressure Cooker for this first time this season as they begin their home slate for 2024 on Tuesday, September 3rd when they play host to High Point University. Start time for Tuesday night's game is scheduled for 6:00 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.