Not Over Til Fat Lady Sings: SU Volleyball Pulls Off the Comeback

Clifford Seymour Gym is home to Southern University volleyball. Recently, Southern Lady Jags faced off against Texas Southern Lady Tigers. Southern came into this game with a 7-14 record and a 5-7 conference record, while Texas Southern came into the game with a 7-20 record and a 7-6 conference record. The Lady Jags lost their last two matches but came into this game looking to rebound.
During the first set, Texas Southern came to play, as Southern started slowly and shaky. Southern tried to respond to Texas Southern scoring quickly, but it just was not enough to pull off the comeback, they could not keep up with Texas Southern. Texas Southern ended up closing it out with a score of (Southern) 21-25 (Texas Southern). As for the second set, it was a dogfight. Southern tried their best to pull away, but Texas Southern was not backing down. Southern had the crowd holding their breath as Southern had plenty of times to close out Texas Southern during the set. Southern had a hard time striking through Texas Southern’s iron wall defense. Southern couldn’t pull away as Texas Southern took the 2nd set with a score of (Southern) 29-31 (Texas Southern). As it stood, Texas Southern was up 2-0, and it looked like it was going to be a clean sweep against Southern. Southern headed into the locker room looking for answers, being down 0-2 and making the proper adjustments needed to get back into the game. As Southern came out for the 3rd set, they came to play, scoring eight straight points. Southern was “all gas, no breaks for a moment,” and Texas Southern didn’t seem to show a lot of fight coming out into the 3rd set. Southern appeared to look more relaxed and in tune with the game they usually play. Southern University Office of Student Media spoke with Head Coach Vanessa Jacobs on what led to the flipping of the switch. Coach Jacobs said, “We just need to believe in each other, just trust the people around you, and we will get the outcome we are looking for. I told them this isn’t our first time being in this predicament.” Southern adjusted and matched up well against Texas Southern’s serves and spikes, and fought until they took their 1st set of the night. Coach Jacobs spoke on the obstacles the team had to overcome and what has been the most important aspect in doing so, “I told them to just hit as hard as they can and keep hitting, believe in your skills, and believe in your teammate’s skills.” Texas Southern wasn’t just going to give Southern the set as they fought to close the scoring gap with a score ending up being (Southern) 25-22 (Texas Southern). Southern did not need much to gain their momentum back to swing things around. All Texas Southern needed was one more set, but it just didn’t seem as if they could finish Southern off. Coming into the 4th set, Southern was razor-sharp focus to take another set away from Texas Southern. The Lady Jags dominated another set as they fed off the energy from the crowd. As Texas Southern tried their hardest to stay in the game, it wasn’t enough for a hungry Jaguar team. Coach Jacobs made crucial timeouts to rally the team and calm their emotions so they would not make any mistakes. Southern pulled away another set from Texas Southern with the score being (Southern) 25-21 (Texas Southern), and they went into the 5th set being tied, 2-2. Early on, it did not look like Southern was going to pull away a single set, but now they have an actual shot of coming back into this game and winning. It was a nail-biter as everyone in the building was standing, and no team could pull away from each other. Southern found a way to victory as they came up with a clutch conference win, with the final score being (Southern) 16-14 ( Texas Southern). The Lady Jags sophomore setter Jordan Felix provided her comments on the team’s next steps, “Feed off each other’s energy and keep working.” Southern would finish with 53 assists and 54 kills. Jordan Felix finished with 28 assists and 14 kills.