HAMMOND, La. – Top-seeded HCU fell to host and No. 2 seed Southeastern in the Southland Conference Volleyball Championship Final, 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 20-25, 16-25), Sunday at the University Center. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
HCU (23-10) was led by sophomore outside hitter
Sara Arroyo with 15 kills, three digs and three blocks. Sophomore middle blocker
Audrey Pearce had 11 kills, three digs, and three blocks. Senior middle blocker
Jada Allen added 10 kills and four blocks. Redshirt freshman setter
Grace McLaughlin recorded 42 assists, seven digs, and four kills. Senior libero
Kaley Feris led the Huskies defensively with 13 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist
Alexia Jones added 11 digs to the back line.
SLU (25-7) was led by Kailin Newsome with a double-double of 18 kills and 11 digs. Cicily Hidalgo added another double-double of 16 kills and 19 digs for the Lions. Ariana Hebert led the Lions in assists with 29 and Gracie Duplechein had 22. Ansley Tullis led the back line with 17 digs.
SLU outhit HCU, .293-.265, but the Huskies led in attacks (151-147). SLU had 72 digs to HCU's 53, and the Lions held the edge in blocks, 9-8.
HCU went on a nine-point run in the first set to take a 11-2 advantage thanks to two blocks and a kill by
Jada Allen. After a series of back-and-forth points, HCU claimed a 19-10 lead into the second timeout by Southeastern. HCU claimed the first set with back-to-back kills by
Audrey Pearce.
The Lions took an early 8-2 lead in the second set thanks to back-to-back kills back Kailin Newsome before HCU battled back to 12-11 to force a timeout by Southeastern. HCU tied the game at 14-14 before the Lions went on a five-point run to break the game open at 19-14. Southeastern claimed the second set 25-20.
In the third, HCU got off to a hot start taking a 6-1 lead thanks to two kills a piece by Shelby O'Neal and
Jada Allen. Southeastern fought back to tie the game at 20-20, before claiming the last five points to win the set 25-20.
After Southeastern scored the opening two in the fourth, HCU responded to a 4-3 deficit thanks to two kills by
Jada Allen. The Lions went on a seven point run to break the game open 11-3 and the Huskies couldn't quite recover to drop the final set 25-16.
The Huskies will await a bid into the NIVC Tournament, which will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 27.
