The Lady Lions battled the Southern University Lady Jaguars on the volleyball court, winning three sets to one. The win took place on Thursday, Sept. 16, in the University Center.
After a lackluster performance in the first set, the Lady Lions entered the second set ready to play, at one point even opening up the scoring difference 20-12, Lions.
“We talked about how we needed to score points when we were back at the serving line because in the first set, we exhausted all of our subs, and we kept going point for point,” said head volleyball coach Julie Langford. “So, we talked about getting down to business when we have the serve in our favor and scoring points so we didn’t run through our subs, and as a result, in the second set we only used half of our subs. So it worked, they really focused in and got that done.”
Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Buckner set a new career-high in kills with 21 and also led the team in total attacks and points. Freshman setter Lindsey Young led the team by a wide margin in assists with 58. Senior libero Alex Greer led the team in digs, accumulating 18 over the four-set match.
“I just come out here and play hard every time,” said Buckner. “I don’t really go for the career-high, I just want to help out anyway I can. I’m happy about it, but I’m really glad the team got a win tonight.”
While this year’s roster is filled with freshman players, the more experienced players have not been deterred from having high hopes for the rest of the season.
“All the freshman are great players, and they have a lot of experience already,” said Buckner. “They came in and worked very hard in the preseason, and we’ve come together as a team. One of our team words we’ve wanted to focus on this year was ‘unity,’ and that’s what we’ve really done this season, worked together, get the ball rolling, try to get them in here and get them on the Southeastern way of playing volleyball, and they’ve done great. I’m really excited. It’s still just the beginning for us.”
The Lady Lions opened up the Southland Conference (SLC) in Thibodeaux, La., against Nicholls State on Sept. 17, fighting hard to keep the match close, but ultimately lost three sets to one.
The team then went on to play against non-conference foes Louisiana Tech and University of Houston on Sept. 18. Defeat found them again, as the Lions lost both matches and no sets.
However, the Lady Lions will have some time to recuperate, returning home to begin the SLC home schedule against McNeese State on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 7 p.m.