NACOGDOCHES, Texas- Stephen F. Austin defeated Cal Poly, 3-0 in the opening match of the first SFA Tournament.
The ‘Jacks got off to a blazing start with a 6-1 run. SFA and Cal Poly traded points until SFA scored three in a row to extend their lead to 12-5. Cal Poly had two separate three-points runs which allowed them to close the gap and tie the game at 14. With the first set tied at 17, the ‘Jacks went on a four-point run to take a 20-17 lead. The Mustangs battled back to tie the game at 24, but the ‘Jacks scored the final two points and won the set 26-24. SFA jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the second set, but Cal Poly came roaring back and eventually took an 11-10 lead. After a mini three-point run, SFA held an 18-14 lead. However, a four-point run by the Mustangs tied the set up at 20. The Mustangs had a three-point run where they took a 25-24 lead, but the Ladyjacks scored two points to put them up 26-25. Cal Poly then tied it up at 26, but committed two errors in a row which gave SFA a 28-26 set two victory. In the third set SFA started off hot with a 9-3 run. The ‘Jacks had two mini three-point runs that extended their lead to 15-6. Cal Poly went on a four-point spurt to cut the lead down to five, but that did not stop SFA from bringing the lead back up to seven, 19-12. SFA continued to assert their dominance as they went on a four-point run to take a 23-14 lead. Cal Poly scored four more points before SFA scored the final two to secure the sweep.SFA led Cal Poly in points (54-46), kills (43-31), aces (6-4), assists (37-30), and digs (67-59). Camryn Hill recorded her second double-double of the season leading the team with 11 kills and finishing second with 14 digs. Tanishua Joseph was the other Ladyjacks who recorded double figures with 10 kills. Ariana Pagan and Haley Hoang tied for the team lead with 15 digs. Maddy Bouque recorded 18 assists while Jayden Flynn had 16. Izabella Ortiz led the team with three blocks, followed by Joseph and Ielan Bradley who each recorded two.
The Ladyjacks will be back Friday, September 1st for their second game of the tournament against Nicholls at 4:00 p.m.
By: Amanda Paver, SFA Assistant Director for Strategic Communications