The first set proved to be the most competitive with Southeastern jumping out to a 7-4 lead on a ball-handling error by UNO before the Privateers rattled off six of the next seven points to take a 10-8 lead before Hannah Brewer ended that run with a kill.
That Brewer kill started a run of four-straight Lady Lion points, part of a 6-1 SLU run, which ended the only time the Lady Lions trailed in the match as a Rachel Hartmann kill made the score 14-11 Southeastern. With SLU leading 15-13, a kill by Jacqueline Arrington starting the Lady Lions on another run of four-straight and six out of seven to bump the lead up to 21-14 on another kill by Arrington. The Lady Lions used seven rallies to get the final four points needed to close out the set with Hartmann’s kill on set point giving SLU a 25-17 victory in the first set and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Southeastern jumped out quickly in the second set, running out to a 6-1 lead following a service ace by Kailin Newsome. Four rallies later, a kill by Arrington put the Lady Lions up 9-2. The Privateers tried to keep it close, cutting it to as little as five points several times over the next few rallies, the final time at 12-7, before Southeastern put any thoughts of a comeback in the set to rest by scoring six straight and eight of the next nine as another ace by Newsome made it 20-8 Lady Lions. SLU needed eight rallies to get the final five points needed to end the set with Cicily Hidalgo putting an end to it with a kill on set point for the 25-11 set win and 2-0 lead in the match.
Newsome started the third set with a kill and an ace to put Southeastern up 2-0 as SLU did not trail in the third. Leading 3-2, another Hidalgo kill started an 8-2 Lady Lion push to extend the lead out to 11-4 following yet another Newsome kill. UNO answered with two straight points to cut the SLU lead down to five, but a service error by the Privateers kicked off a 6-0 Southeastern run, capped by a Newsome kill to put the Lady Lions up 17-6. With SLU leading 21-10, UNO scored three-straight before a Ryley Boyne kill sent the Lady Lions on the final push needed to cross the finish line, scoring four of the final five points to cap it off as a Privateer attack on match point struck the antenna to end the set at 25-14 and the match at 3-0.
Newsome finished the night with a match-high 12 kills with just four errors on 26 total attacks to end the match with a .308 attack percentage. She also added three service aces, a block assist, and a set assist. She added 12 digs to complete her ninth double-double of the season. Hartmann finished the evening with nine kills on a .333 attack percentage with 13 digs, two service aces, and an assist. Arrington hit .438 on the night to finish with eight kills. Ansley Tullis had nine digs in the match, moving her up from 10th to eighth on the Southeastern career digs list. Gracie Duplechein had 36 assists, two kills, three service aces, and seven digs.
SLU hit for a solid .340 as a team in the match, collecting 45 total kills to 11 errors on 100 total attacks. The Privateers hit for just .159 as a team, scoring 24 kills with 10 errors on 88 total attacks. The win is Southeastern’s sixth-straight, the longest since winning eight in a row during the 2020 season, which was played during the spring of 2021.
The Lady Lions (12-4, 3-1 SLC) head back on the road down to Thibodaux on Thursday for their second of three matches on the week to take on Nicholls. Opening serve of Thursday’s match against the Colonels (2-11, 0-3 SLC) is set for 6:30 p.m. at the David R. Stopher Gymnasium and the match is currently not slated to be streamed, though live stats will be available.
DIGGIN’ IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin’ It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin’ It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at [email protected] or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @LionUpVB on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
