DENTON, Texas- Stephen F. Austin defeated North Texas, 3-2 Wednesday night in a thrilling midweek matchup.
The first set was tightly contested as neither team held over a three-point lead until the ‘Jacks broke through with a 21-18 lead. SFA then went on a 4-1 run to secure a set one victory. With the score tied at 6, the Mean Green went on a 4-0 run to extend their lead to 10-6. The Ladyjacks slowly fought their way back to tie the set at 17. SFA had a 20-19 lead late in the set but UNT went on a 5-0 spurt to take a 24-20 lead and eventually won the set 25-21. The third set was close as neither team held more than a three point lead until SFA took a 22-18 lead. The ‘Jacks finished off the set on a 3-1 run to win 25-19. SFA broke through in the fourth set and took an 8-4 lead early in the set. However, UNT would rattle off seven points to take a 11-8 lead. Points were traded back and forth until UNT won the final four points of the set and won 25-18. In the final set, UNT held a slim 5-4 lead when SFA went on a four-point run fueled by two service aces from WAC Libero of the Week, Haley Hoang. The back and forth trend of the night continued for the rest of the set until Alleah Dallas recorded the final kill of the match as the ‘Jacks pulled away with a 15-9 set victory.
SFA led UNT in points (75.5-65.0), kills (55-54), aces (6-5), blocks (14-6), assists (54-53), digs (59-57), and hitting percentage (.245-.177). Ielan Bradley led the team with 14 kills, followed by Dallas who had 11. Jayden Flynn recorded 27 assists, followed by Maddy Bourque who had 22. Three Ladyjacks recorded double digit digs; Ariana Pagan led the team with 13, followed by Camryn Hill with 12 and Hoang with 11. The SFA block party was led by Izabella Ortiz who recorded seven blocks, followed by Dallas, Bradley, and Hill with five.
The Ladyjacks continue their road trip to Arizona to Northern Arizona for a tournament where they will face off against Boise State, Northern Arizona, and Arizona State. The first matchup of the tournament will be Boise State on Friday, September 8th at 12:00 p.m. central time.
By: Amanda Paver, SFA Assistant Director for Strategic Communications