Volleyball team opens home schedule with loss

Fresh off the road from the UTEP Invitational, the Southern (1-6) volleyball team was swept by McNeese State (5-3) 25-16, 25-22, and 25-19 in their home opener Wednesday night at Seymour Gym.
Senior Simone Beasley and junior Marisol Macias tied with eight kills for Southern. Freshman Phalen Clark added six kills and one block. McNeese had a .545 hitting percentage in the first game.
Although McNeese won first time, after finishing 1-2 in the Louisiana Tech Tournament last weekend, the Cowgirls knew SU would be tough in front on their home crowd.
“They’re one of the more athletic teams we’ve played all year,” McNeese coach Terry Gamble. “We lost our composure in game two which bothered me.”
At one point during game two, SU led 10-3,which may have caused the letdown.
Southern head coach Vanessa Jacobs said she was excited because she saw her team play well against a taller team.
“When we have the opportunity to put it away, we have to put it away,” she said after game three. “We just need to learn how to capitalize when they are making mistakes.”
McNeese jumped out to 13-8 and 19-15 leads in games one and three, despite losing their composure in the match.
Their composure nearly cost them game three. The game was a back and fourth struggle before the Cowgirls gained control of the match at 9-8. SU got as a close as 16-15 before the Cowgirls closed out the match.
Although the Jaguars are 1-6, Jacobs said the team still has things to work out.
“We have a really tough weekend and we need to bounce back,” Jacobs said.
In their win at the UTEP Invitational last weekend, SU won 25-18, 25-19, 15-8 in five sets over Texas Southern. Beasley earned All-Tournament honors for performance. Freshman Deyshia Burden led with 15 kills, four blocks, and a .385 hitting percentage. Sophomore transfer Leilani Lealaimatafao added eight kills and also had a .353 hitting percentage. As a team, Southern had a .272 hitting percentage.
“I that the girls started to understand that this is our gym and wee need to protect it,” Jacobs said. “We represented as far as the home crowd. I hope that we continue to get that and at the same time we get the victory.”
The Jaguars will return home October 2 to battle Prairie View for conference opener at 6:00 p.m. at Seymour Gym.