The Lady Lions won their second game of the season in a five set match that went to the wire against Lamar. The Lions promotion, Dig the Lions, was where the first 200 students received a free T-shirt and pizza. However ,they had another match against Houston Baptist that went all five sets losing off of a penalty.
The Lion's Roar/Kelonda Dixon
Five back-to-back set matches tested the fortitude of the Lady Lions last weekend as they defeated Lamar University 3-2 but lost to Houston Baptist 3-2. The Lady Lions record is now 2-12, and 1-1 in Southland Conference play.
“It’s been really tough,” said Head Coach Jim Smoot. “We tried to really focus on conference play. I think they did good focusing on that and realizing that it is going to be a battle for them.”
The Lady Lions lost 11 straight games before winning against Lamar. Most of these losses came during the three tournaments that the Lady Lions participated in.
“It feels so good to finally win,” said redshirt freshman setter Elyssa Purcell. “We were 1-11 in preseason. So to get our first win in conference and at home, it feels really good.”
Purcell recorded her third triple-double of her career against Lamar with 10 kills, 23 assists and 10 digs. Freshman outside hitter Chloee Holden recorded her career high 14 kills. Senior middle blocker Rachael Bunn had five of the nine team blocks.
“I was happy with my performance,” said Purcell. “I thought my teammates did really good too. Our defenders really stepped up today and took control.”
The second game went similar but had a different ending. Purcell recorded her fourth triple double of the season with 10 kills, 25 assists and 17 digs placing among the best in the nation in this category. The assists and digs were her career best.
“I think I did alright with my performance,” said Holden. “I guess with the loss, it wasn’t all of that obviously, but I think I made my statement to them.”
Unfortunately, the Lions lost a 2-1 match lead as HBU pulled off a comeback.
“In the third and fifth set, I think we kind of let up,” said Holden. “We tried to cruise through the game rather than pushing out. We stopped talking. You got to talk in volleyball to win, so our communication went a little bit low.”
Smoot believes that the team has a lot to work on if they want to reach the next level in the conference.
“It’s funny if you work on something one day you’re gonna be good, but something else goes bad,” said Smoot. “I think there were times we were setting the ball into their biggest blocking when there were weaker sides. We kind of played into their hands at times so we need to work on our gamesmanship.”
The Lady Lions will hit the road this Saturday, Oct. 1 to face Abilene Christian. They will return to the University Center on Saturday, Oct. 8 to face in-state rivals the University of New Orleans.
“I hope we continue to win,” said Purcell. “But you can’t just assume that you are going to win. You always have to work for it and prepare. Basically, we are going to go into practice and start over like this never happened. We have to prepare for our next team.”