The Lady Lions volleyball team lost back-to-back conference games last week. The losses came against Incarnate Word last Thursday in a four-set decision with a score of 3-1; and Abilene Christian this past Saturday in a three-set decision with a score of 3-0.
These two losses have dropped the Lady Lions from fourth to eighth place in the Southland Conference standings. The Lady Lions need to finish in at least eighth place in order to make the Southland Conference Tournament.
In the first game against Incarnate Word the Cardinals started out strong with a commanding first set with a score of 25-19 and second set with a score of 25-17 according to lionsports.net. In the third set the Lady Lions started to show some fight scoring the last four points to take the third set 22-25.
The fourth set was very competitive with three lead changes and eight ties. The Lady Lions were just two points away from winning the fourth set before the Cardinals scored the last five points to finish the game 25-23.
Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Friedman finished the game with the most kills at 12, and junior middle blocker Landry Bullock helped out with 11 kills of her own. Senior setter Mikayla Shippy dished out 30 assists, while senior defensive specialist Brooke Balser led the entire game with 18 digs.
In the match against Abilene Christian, the Lady Lions had a rough game with 11 service errors. The Wildcats dominated the first set, never trailing and out hitting the Lady Lions .333 to .122, making the score for the first set 25-15.
The second set was much more competitive with the Lady Lions taking a lead and making substitutions that had a 60-point improvement on their attack. But, their lead did not last very long as the Wildcats finished the set with a 5-0 scoring run, the ending score being 25-20.
In the third set the Wildcats started the set with a convincing lead, but the Lady Lions began to fight back with a 5-1 scoring run to take their first lead. The two teams went back and forth until an attack error by the Lady Lions brought the Wildcats to match point at 24-21. A kill by Friedman and a solo block by senior middle blocker Veronica Turk put the game in reach for the Lady Lions. But, another error this time made by junior outside hitter Madi Odom ended the match at 25-23.
Bullock led with 14 kills and a career high attack percentage of .483. Freshman setter Haley Baker handed out 26 assists, while freshman defensive specialist Monica Ramon led with 13 digs.
The Lady Lions will return to the University Center this week against Nicholls State on Thursday where students will be encouraged to wear their best Halloween costumes for the Halftime Costume Contest. And the Lady Lions will face McNeese State on Saturday were there will also be a costume contest at halftime as well as a volleyball celebration for Cub Club members. For more information visit lionsports.com.