Southeastern volleyball continued to roll last week, defeating Houston Christian 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-17, 15-9) at the Pride Roofing University Center on Thursday, Oct. 5. 

Two days later, the team showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The Green and Gold continued their winning ways with a 3-0 (25-16, 28-26, 25-20) sweep of McNeese State at the UC.

The Lady Lions are now 16-4 (7-1 SLC) on the year and possess the longest winning streak (10) since joining the Southland Conference. 

“Streaks are cool, but we’re just looking at it one day at a time. We’ve got to continue playing with what we call confident composure. When we do that, we’re a tough team to beat,” Head Coach Jeremy White said.

The rematch of the 2022 Southland Conference Tournament title between SLU and HCU lived up to the hype and then some on Thursday night.

Fur was flying around the court as the Lady Lions and Huskies battled through five eventful sets of volleyball. SLU came back twice from a 1-0 and 2-1 deficit to take the final two sets for a dramatic come-from-behind victory. 

HCU got off to a torrid start in the deciding fifth set, taking the opening three points en route to a 7-3 lead. However, White quickly called a much-needed timeout to settle down his squad, which proceeded to rally off the following four points to tie the contest 7-7. 

Southeastern fell behind again 8-7 but responded with six straight points to take a commanding 13-8 advantage. SLU would surrender only one more point to its opposition before slamming the door shut 15-9 courtesy of senior libero/defensive specialist Ansley Tullis’ game-sealing service ace. 

“I’m extremely proud. We didn’t have our best stuff tonight, but we settled down and just played gritty volleyball,” White said.

Saturday’s match vs. a one-conference loss McNeese squad proved much less difficult as the Lady Lions cruised to their eighth 3-0 sweep during this unprecedented ten-game winning streak. 

Junior Rachel Hartmann was named Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week, while fellow junior Gracie Duplechain earned Southland Conference Setter of the Week honors. 

Hartmann, a William Carey transfer, shined brightest vs. HCU. The Slidell native posted a 20 and 20 game (24 kills and 20 digs) on an efficient .420 attack percentage for her fifth double-double of the season.

Hartmann also added three block assists, an ace and an assist against the Huskies. Her performance versus McNeese hardly skipped a beat as SLU’s opposite hitter delivered a team-high 13 kills on an impressive .500 attack percentage while producing four block assists and another service ace.

This was Hartmann’s second time being named SLC Offensive Player of the Week this year, as she continues to be a key cog in this dominant SLU squad.

“The trust between me and Gracie tonight was on point, and that always gives me confidence to go out and do my part,” Hartmann said following the Lady Lions’ win over HCU.

Speaking of Gracie, the St. Amant product provided a season-high 46 assists paired with 17 digs and a block assist against the Huskies en route to her first career SLC Setter of the Week award. 

Fresh off her sixth double-double of the campaign, Duplechain totaled 28 assists, nine digs, a kill and a block assist vs. McNeese. 

Southeastern volleyball continues to reach new heights under Coach White and will next take to the court on Thursday (Oct. 12) versus Lamar (1-17, 1-6 SLC) at 6 p.m. in Beaumont, Texas. 

The Lady Lions will return home to host Northwestern State (9-10, 5-3 SLC) at the UC on Saturday (Oct. 14) for an 11 a.m. opening serve. 

Both games will be televised on ESPN+ while the matchup against NSU will also be available to listen to on KSLU Radio. 

Stay tuned to The Lion’s Roar for further SLU volleyball content.