Oct. 12, 2007

Box Score

HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The Ladyjack volleyball team got an early challenge from Sam Houston, but came on strong in the final two games to claim its 58th consecutive win in Southland Conference play 3-1 (30-27, 27-30, 30-16, 30-15) on Friday.

SFA (17-5, 7-0) would hold the Bearkats (9-10, 3-4) to a -.035 attack percentage in the final two games, as the Ladyjacks have now won their last 11 matches and their last 10 in a row over their rivals from Huntsville.

Sam Houston would use the spark of the home crowd to jump out early to a 15-9 lead, but the Ladyjacks would ride the offense of Kelsey Owens to climb back to within a point at 17-16. But the `Kats would not back down as they continued to hold the lead until the Ladyjacks were able to draw even at 24-24. Owens and JJ Jones would continue to fire at the Bearkat defense, finishing with a combined 12 kills for the game, and gave SFA the lead at 26-25. It would not be long before Whitney Schott would find Traci Rohde to finish of the frame.

The `Kats would find the early momentum once again in the second stanza, building their lead to 8-3 in the early on and eventually to 15-10 before SFA was forced to call a timeout. The story would stay the same as Sam Houston's youthful squad, with six freshmen on the roster, held onto the lead until a Cynthia Yarotsky attack went awry to knot the score at 22 apiece. But the Ladyjacks would finish with a .000 attack percentage in the frame, never holding the lead as the `Kats would steal game two 30-27.

Halftime seemed to invigorate the Ladyjacks, but Sam Houston was still able to keep things close. The hitting combination of Jones, Owens and Lauren Railey combined to push the Ladyjacks in front15-12 midway through the third game. Debbie Humphreys would watch as SFA would put together the match's first significant run, separating itself from the `Kats at 23-13 before Brenda Gray used a timeout to regroup her squad; however, it would go for naught as SFA would hit .310 on its way to a convincing 30-16 win.

Game four would see SFA come out on fire, riding its wave of momentum to a 6-1 lead. That lead would swell to 12-1 before the `Kats would find the scoring column again. The Ladyjacks would leave no doubt the rest of the way, instigating a barrage of floor-seeking attacks that found their mark to cruise to a clinching 30-15 win.

Owens would post a match and career-high 18 kills on the night, only making four errors in 42 attacks (.333). Senior Jami Hill continued her outstanding play at the libero slot, picking up a career-best 32 digs, including 10 in the first game alone.

Jones became only the second player in the SLC to pick up a triple-double in conference play with 10 kills, 32 assists and 15 digs. It is the third time this season she has accomplished the feat.

Sam Houston got another solid match from Cynthia Yarotsky, finishing with 12 kills and 21 digs for the `Kats.

SFA will be on the road next week against Tulane, before traveling to Thibodaux to try and claim the all-time SLC win streak against Nicholls State on October 19.

-SFA-