The Lady Lions opened their 2023 campaign a week ago today at the Pride Roofing University Center in the Southeastern Showdown against the likes of Grambling, Washington and UTEP, taking one of three matches. 

SLU blanked Grambling 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-14) last Friday afternoon (Aug. 25) before falling to Washington 3-1 (14-25, 18-25, 25-17, 18-25) in the nightcap. 

However, the main news was the official unveiling of the 2022 Southland Conference Tournament banner. The Green and Gold hung their banner in the rafters of the UC before the game against the Huskies, cementing that historic squad in the Southeastern record books. 

Head Coach Jeremy White guided the Lady Lions to their first-ever SLC title a year ago and is far from satisfied, noting this is just the beginning for his program. 

“It’s a big deal. We’re really excited about that achievement. Hanging the banner up for our fans, the city of Hammond and Southeastern was awesome, but I think our focus now is less about that banner and about hanging another one,” White stated. 

SLU is certainly positioned well to repeat being picked second behind HCU in the preseason conference polls. The Huskies won the regular season crown last season but were upended by the Lady Lions in the tournament championship game 3-1 behind a raucous home crowd at the University Center. 

The SLC Tournament MVP Kailin Newsome is back for her senior year and was overwhelmed with joy seeing her school’s championship banner hung in the same building where they made history. 

“It’s really exciting and very rewarding seeing all our hard work pay off. That banner is up there forever,” she said. 

Southeastern did drop its final match of the weekend against UTEP 3-1 (20-25, 18-25, 25-23, 22-25) and currently sits at 1-2 overall. 

A positive from SLU’s opening three-game stretch was William Carey transfer Rachel Hartmann. The junior setter/opposite hitter was named SLC Offensive Player of the Week after posting a double-double in all three matches. 

The Slidell native mustered 17 assists and 10 digs vs. Grambling, 13 kills and 12 assists against Washington and 12 kills and 12 assists versus UTEP. 

“I played beach against Southeastern’s beach volleyball team and saw how competitive it was. I just wanted to further my career and I already knew some people on the team so I thought it was the right decision for me,” Hartmann explained regarding her decision to enter the portal.

She will play under Coach White on SLU’s beach squad as well when their season starts in the spring. 

The Lady Lions participate in the Central Arkansas Invitational starting today against Little Rock at 1 p.m., looking to get back to .500 on the season. 

Southeastern will conclude their Arkansas outing against tournament host UCA at 1 p.m. tomorrow. 

For all things SLU volleyball, stay tuned to The Lion’s Roar as well as Lion Sports.