The Lion’s Roar / Melanie Mann
Brooke Balser prepares to bump the ball launched from the opponent’s side of the net. Balser accomplished a career high for digs in the game versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Over the past week, the Lady Lions volleyball team won two of the three games in the Southland Conference play, which began for the Lions last Tuesday.

After a seven-game losing streak, the Lady Lions faced off against the University of New Orleans at the Human Performance Center in their first action of the Southland Conference. The Lady Lions were able to pull off a set of three wins with the final scores of 25-23, 25-13 and 27-25. 

The key players for this game were Parrie Hartley with 12 kills and three aces, Tiffany Thomas with nine kills and one block, Veronica Turk with eight kills and one block and Rachael Bunn with two kills. 

The Lady Lions were to see action once again when they played Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the University Center on Thursday. In a five-set play, Southeastern won three of the five sets with scores of 9-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23 and 15-13.

For some of the Lady Lions, this was a historical moment in their winning history.

“This game changed school history,” said Turk. “In my time here, we’ve never beaten Corpus. They’ve always been in the top four.”

One of the key players, freshman Sarah Friedman a native of Houston, Texas, accomplished a career-high of 16 kills along with her one ace and block. 

Turk was another key player who accomplished 13 kills along with her three blocks. One of the key ways Turk was able to help the team against Texas was by practicing envisioning her goal before the game started. 

“Lately, we’ve been using imagery, where you imagine yourself doing the right skill,” said Turk. “You imagine yourself getting it right, and that helped out a lot.”

Two other key players for this match were Landry Bullock with 10 kills and one block and Thomas with eight kills and one block. Hartley, Brooke Balser and Kacey Freeman also accomplished career highs in this match for digs. 

The coach is optimistic of the excitement and memories that can be created in future matches of the season. 

“If this leads to further success throughout the conference, we’ll have a great season, and that’s something they’ll look back on with a lot of joy,” said head coach Jim Smoot. 

With this win, players are ready to take on upcoming matches against their competition for the rest of the season. 

“We haven’t beaten this team in three years,” said Bullock. “This is the start of something happening in Southeastern volleyball. We’re all really excited.”

The Lady Lions had a home advantage on Saturday while playing in the University Center but were unable to keep up the momentum they had for the previous two matches, which caused their two-match winning streak to be broken by Houston Baptist.  

The key players for Southeastern during these sets were Hartley with 13 kills, Turk with 11 kills and one block, Thomas with five kills and three blocks and Elizabeth Ramee with five kills.

The Lady Lions will compete against Jackson State University in Jackson on Oct. 2 and have a chance to gain momentum once again in the Southland Conference when they play Central Arkansas in the University Center on Oct. 4 at 11 a.m.

For more information about the volleyball schedule, visit lionsports.net.