NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Junior outside hitter
Jennifer Loerch recorded a double-doubles of 16 points and 10 digs, but her efforts were countered by Stephen F. Austin's Jill Ivy and Jacque Allen, whose combined 33.5 points carried the Ladjacks to a 3-0 victory over Abilene Christian Saturday afternoon at Shelton Gym.
SFA won by scores of 29-27, 25-16 and 25-18 to remain undefeated vs. the Southland Conference at 4-0 (11-7 overall), while the Wildcats dropped to 2-15 and 0-4 (SLC).
Game one was close from wire-to-wire despite the fact the Wildcats didn't regain the lead after losing it on a 6-1 Ladyjack run that flipped ACU's 15-11 advantage into a 17-16 deficit. From there the Wildcats tied the score 10 times all the way to 27-27, but ultimately lost the set on consecutive kills by Kelsi Bartlett and Allen.
Allen finished the match with a .643 hitting percentage, ripping 10 kills on 14 attempts with one error. And as a team, SFA hit .339 to the Wildcats' .262.
Ivy, meanwhile, led all players with 18 kills and delivered four of the Ladyjacks 11 service aces.
In game two, the Wildcats began to falter after getting within a point of SFA at 15-14 as the Ladyjacks responded to their threat with a 6-0 run that pushed their lead to 20-14. And early in game three, Ivy helped put the match away with three aces during a 7-0 run that snapped a 3-3 tie.
For the Wildcats,
Taylor Nix hit .600 with six kills on 10 attempts. Junior
Sarah Siemens was credited with 34 assists and a service ace, and sophomore
Dorothy Swanson dug out the most attacks with 11.
The Wildcats remain on the road next weekend with matches Thursday and Saturday at Lamar and Sam Houston State.
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