CEDAR CITY, Utah- Stephen F. Austin defeated Southern Utah 3-1 Saturday afternoon to remain undefeated in WAC play.
The trend of early contested sets continued against the Thunderbirds as neither team held more than a three-point lead until the ‘Jacks rattled off five in a row to bring their lead up to 13-6. Later in the set, SFA went on a 6-0 scoring spurt to extend their lead to 22-10. The ‘Jacks cruised to a 25-15 first set victory. SUU took a commanding 11-6 lead early in the second set. SFA continued to close the gap throughout the rest of the set with two separate three-point runs which cut the deficit down to two. SUU tried to close out the second set, but SFA scored four in a row to cut the lead down to 24-23. However, the Thunderbirds were able to secure the second set victory, 25-23. An early four-point run put SFA up 7-4 and their lead continued to grow off a six-point spurt that extended the lead to 19-9. The ‘Jacks scored six of the last nine points as they secured a 25-12 third set victory. SFA had an early four-point run as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead and never looked back. The Ladyjacks had a four-point spurt and two separate three-point runs on their way to a 25-16 fourth set victory. SFA secured their 10th consecutive win and is currently tied for the ninth longest win streak in the country.SFA led SUU in points (66-52), kills (53-45), blocks (9-3), assists (47-42), and hitting percentage (.357-.126). Ielan Bradley led the Ladyjack offense with 15 kills, followed by Camryn Hill and Izabella Ortiz recorded nine. Jayden Flynn led the team with 23 assists, followed by Maddy Bourque who recorded 20. Bradley also led the ‘Jacks defense with five blocks, followed by Ortiz and Kyanna Creecy with four each. Haley Hoang led the team with 14 digs, followed by Hill and Ariana Pagan each recorded seven. With this win, SFA secured a spot in the WAC Tournament that will be held at Utah Valley in Orem, Utah on November 16-18.
The Ladyjacks will head down south to Edinburg for a matchup with the UTRGV Vaqueros on Thursday, October 26th at 6:30 p.m.
By: Amanda Paver, SFA Assistant Director for Strategic Communications