The Lady Lions volleyball team dominated in a 3-0 victory over UNO Thursday at the University Center led by junior outside hitter Kailin Newsome; she had sixteen kills and seven digs. 

Both teams entered the match-up on two-game win streaks. For UNO, they had close wins against UIW and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. 

As for the Green and Gold, they had back-to-back wins against TAMCC and HCU.

For the second straight game, SLU held their opponent to zero sets won. Like their game against HCU, the Lions started off the first set strong going up 10-7. 

Southeastern and UNO continued their back-and-forth battle during the set before SLU took a commanding 20-14 lead late in the period.

The University of New Orleans did not back down without a fight as they scored three straight points and dug their way back into the match. 

After a quick timeout, the Green and Gold responded promptly with a 5-2 run, winning the set 25-19. 

In the opening period, the Lady Lions converted on 28.9% of their hits, while UNO only converted on 18.4%. 

Both teams saw an efficiency increase during the next set as SLU converted 46.9% of their shots, and New Orleans hit 34.5% of theirs.

At the beginning of the second set, the Lions saw themselves down 5-2 early on; however, graduate student Karlee Wilkerson kept them in the game with three straight kill shots. 

The second set saw highly intense action as both teams traded points. Down the stretch, the game was tied 20-20. Newsome and Wilkerson gave SLU a vast momentum boost as they posted back-to-back kill shots. 

The Lions went on to win the set 25-21, in large part due to their clutch defense. 

Southeastern was able to close out the last set with a 25-19 win. This win makes for the Lions’ third straight, thus completing the homestand. 

“We’re playing some really good volleyball — Ryley Boyne stepped up, Karlee Wilkerson stepped up, and we stay undefeated here at the University Center,” head coach Jeremy White said.

White also expressed his thoughts on his team’s outlook for the rest of the season. 

“You always want to finish the season strong, and I feel like we’re playing well together, so if we can just keep this run of playing hot and with good energy, I think we’ll peak at the right time,” White said. 

With an 18-6 record (8-4 in conf. play), the Lady Lions look to stretch their win streak to four games as they go on the road to Nicholls State University. Gametime is set for Oct. 29 at 11 a.m. Tune into ESPN+ for live coverage.