CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Huskies kicked off the 2023 Southland Conference Volleyball Championship on Friday at 3 p.m. sweeping Northwestern State at Dugan Wellness Center (25-21, 25-21, 25-15). HCU advances to the semi-final match of the SLC Championship for the 3
rd year in a row in a rematch of the 2022 SLC Championship final against Southeastern.
After the Lady Demons grabbed the first two points of the opening set, the Huskies (19-12, 13-5 SLC) tied the set at 3-3 with an ace by
Jaleesa Caroccio. Exchanging kills through the early going of the first set, HCU tied the game at 10-10 with a kill by
Cassidy Drapela. After a kill by Northwestern state, the Huskies tallied four straight points capped off with a kill by
Grace McLaughlin to the lead at 14-11. The Lady Demons got within one point at 14-13 before another four-point run by HCU increased the margin to five points at 18-13. NSU fought back to within two points at 22-20 but couldn't hold off the Huskies scoring three of the last four to take set one, 25-21.
In set two, the Lady Demons (14-17, 9-9 SLC) opening with three straight points before the Huskies tied the set at 3-3 with a block by
Anna Gadway and
Audrey Pearce. HCU grabbed their first lead of the set on back-to-back kills by Drapela and extended their lead to four points at 9-5 off back-to-back kills by
Sara Arroyo. NSU retook the lead at 12-11 on a four-point run before the Huskies tied the set at 14-14. Northwestern State claimed their largest lead of the third set at 18-15 but HCU came roaring back tying the set at 18-18. After the Lady Demons increased the lead back to two points at 21-19, the Huskies rallied with six straight points including back-to-back plays by Gadway with a block and a kill to take set two, 25-21.
The Huskies came out firing in the third set claiming the first three points before the Lady Demons got within one point at 3-2. HCU extended the margin back to three points at 6-3 with a kill by Pearce. After a kill by NSU's La'Treva Kennedy, the Huskies notched six straight points including three kills by Pearce and two kills by Arroyo to lead 12-4. HCU extended their lead to 11 points at 17-6 off a three-point run bookended with kills by Arroyo. NSU narrowed the lead to six points at 19-13 off a five-point run before the Huskies increased the lead back to 10 points at 23-13 off four straight points capped off with a solo block by Pearce. HCU cruised into the semi finals claiming the decisive third set, 25-15.
Three players earned double-digit kills for the Huskies. Arroyo and Drapela recorded 14 kills each while Pearce added 12 kills.
Grace McLaughlin recorded a double-double with 43 assists and 14 digs. Four Huskies recorded double-digit digs for the Husky' defense,
Kaley Feris led the back line with 15 digs while Caroccio added 14 digs and
Tatiana Evans recorded 13 digs.
Northwestern State were led by Teresa Garza and Tessa Gerwig, each notching eight kills. Piper Boydstun dished out 15 assists while Amina Attra added 13 assists. The Lady Demon's back line was led by Ashlyn Svoboda with 15 digs.
The rematch of the 2022 Southland Conference Volleyball Championship match, where the Lady Lions claimed victory in a four-set thriller against the Huskies, will take place in this year's semi-final match when the Huskies take on #1 seed, Southeastern, on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Dugan Wellness Center.
Southeastern (26-4, 17-1 SLC) are led by two first-team all-conference selections, Kailin Newsome and Rachel Hartmann. Newsome ranked second in the conference averaging 3.88 kills per set while Harmann ranked sixth in the SLC averaging 3.21 kills per set. Cicily Hidalgo was selected to the second-team all-conference averaging 2.63 kills per set. Gracie Duplechein is dishing out an average of 10.62 assists per set, ranking second in the conference. The Lady Lions back line is led by Ansley Tullis averaging 3.55 digs per set.
Live broadcast for all conference championship matches will be available at ESPN+! Live stats are available at HCUHuskies.com!
