Second-seed Southeastern wins first Southland Volleyball Championship title with 3-1 victory over top-seed HCU
HAMMOND, La. – After dropping the opening set, the second-seeded Southeastern Louisiana Lady Lions won the next three to defeat top-seeded Houston Christian, 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-16), and claim the 2022 Southland Conference Volleyball Championship on Sunday afternoon.
With the win, Southeastern (25-7) wins its first conference tournament championship and advances to the NCAA Volleyball Championship tournament for the first time in program history. HCU ends the tournament at 23-10. NCAA tournament selections will be announced on Sunday, November 27.
Tournament MVP
Kailin Newsome had 18 kills for Southeastern and also contributed with 11 digs to lead the Lady Lions to a .293 hitting percentage. All-tournament selection
Cicily Hidalgo had another double-double with 16 kills and 19 digs, and all-tournament pick
Ansley Tullis had 17 digs for the Lady Lions. The win for Southeastern capped a 14-0 home record at the University Center.
HCU was paced offensively by all-tournament selection
Sara Arroyo’s 15 kills, as the Huskies hit .265 for the match.
Audrey Pearce had 11 kills and
Jada Allen had 10 for the Huskies. All-tournament pick
Shelby O’Neal had five kills, eight digs, and two blocks.
Grace McLaughlin passed out 42 assists for HCU.
Newsome, Hidalgo, Tullis, Arroyo, and O’Neal were joined on the all-tournament team by McNeese’s
Bailey Tillman and Northwestern State’s
Addison McDermott.
The Huskies jumped out to big lead early in the opening set, scoring nine straight points to take an 11-2 lead. HCU would lead by as many as 11 points in the first set on the way to the 25-16 win. The Huskies hit .433 in the first set with 16 kills against only three errors, led by five from Arroyo and four from Pearce.
When the teams switched sides, it was the Lady Lions who surged to start the second set, going up by an 8-2 margin before an HCU timeout. The Huskies chipped away at that lead before tying the set up at 13-all. Southeastern pushed ahead by five points again just after that, with
Ariana Hebert earning three service aces in that span. HCU cut the lead to two, but three straight SLU points put the hosts ahead by a more comfortable margin, and
Karlee Wilkerson’s kill ended the set with the Lions ahead 25-20. SLU hit .441 in the set with 16 kills against only one error.
HCU took the early lead in the third set, quickly getting out to a 7-2 advantage. The lead stayed in the Huskies’ favor until Southeastern closed out the frame on a 12-3 run, including three kills apiece from Wilkerson and Newsome. Newsome had seven kills in the set and Wilkerson had five kills without an error, as the Lady Lions hit .306 with 20 kills.
Southeastern could sense the championship was within reach and the Lady Lions were the aggressors to start the fourth set. In the blink of an eye, SLU was up 13-4, thanks in large part to a 9-1 run including Hidalgo earning five kills. With the end in sight, Southeastern rode the hot hand, with Hidalgo throwing down seven kills without an error in the set. A late HCU run briefly staved off the championship point, but a cross-court attack by Pearce missed its target, sending the University Center crowd into celebration, as the Lady Lions earned their first league championship.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP: Kailin Newsome, Southeastern
Cicily Hidalgo, Southeastern
Ansley Tullis, Southeastern
Sara Arroyo, HCU
Shelby O’Neal, HCU
Bailey Tillman, McNeese
Addison McDermott, Northwestern State