By: Robbie Kleinmuntz, Volleyball SID
Box Score
BEAUMONT, Texas – Making a surprise return at setter, Emily Sweet dished out a match-high 41 assists, but the Northwestern State volleyball team fell to Lamar 3-1 Thursday evening in McDonald Gym – 17-25, 26-24, 26-24 and 25-22.
NSU (8-18, 4-9) played tough and served aggressively, but 20 service errors told the tale as Lamar (9-19, 7-6) was able to overcome a slow start and come back for the victory.
“Sometimes serving can be contagious, and once the dominos started falling in the wrong direction it got in our heads,” said co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. “We always try to serve big, but today the errors were just mental.”
Sweet had previously been thought to be out for the season with a personal injury, but was cleared to play in-time for the match. She also tacked on four kills on just five attacks.
“Sweet didn't miss a beat tonight,” Hernesman said. “She hadn't practiced all week and still did an excellent job in finding our attackers.”
Stacey DiFrancesco led the Lady Demon offense with 15 kills and 10 digs. It was her 11th double-double in the last 12 matches. Kelly Jimenez tallied 13 kills and nine digs.
“Stacey had 10 digs and she probably could have even had 20. She was really good with her shot selection tonight and stayed aggressive the whole match,” Hernesman said. “Teams are starting to game-plan for her, but she keeps improving and playing well for us.”
In the middle, Vanessa Coleman registered 13 kills and hit at an impressive .480 mark. Mackenzie Neely nearly matched it with seven kills and a .429 hitting percentage.
For Lamar, Cynthia McCollum scored 15 kills, while Wendy Krell had 14 and hit at a .476 mark. Angel Colyar dug up a match-high 19 digs, and Alex Morford had 40 assists.
NSU came out on fire in the first set, jumping ahead 5-0 after three aces by Nicole Hajka. The Lady Demons extended the lead to 12-4 after a pair of kills by DiFrancesco, but the Cardinals would take the next four to make it 12-8. Lamar later cut the deficit to 15-14, but the Lady Demons responded, taking the next three after a block assist by Coleman/Sweet, 18-14.
Still ahead 19-16, NSU reeled of four in a row with Sweet serving, 23-16. The Lady Demons then finished it, 25-17, after consecutive kills by Neely.
NSU took six of the last seven points in the first. Sweet posted seven assists to guide the attack, while Keelie Arneson dug up 6. NSU improved to 17-9 in the opening frame of matches this season.
At 8-8 in the second set, Coleman had a big spike to lead a small surge to make it 11-9 NSU. The teams then exchanged points all the way up to 18-16, with Neely and Coleman finishing on most of the attacks for the Lady Demons. NSU went up 21-18 after Sweet snuck a kill in, but the Cardinals took the next three to tie it 21-21.
At 23-23, Hajka nearly had a kill, but a clutch dig kept it alive for Lamar to finish on an attack. The Lady Demons then saved the set point, but the Cardinals would take it 26-24.
Coleman had five kills in the second set, but nine Lady Demon service errors through two sets really plagued them.
Lamar started on top in the third set, 13-8 after five more NSU service errors. Still down 18-12, Emily Johnson came in to serve and helped cut the deficit to 18-15. Lamar then called timeout up 19-17 after Jimenez pounded a kill.
Trailing 21-18, the Lady Demons took four in a row to go up 22-21 on Arneson's serve after DiFrancesco and Coleman each smashed attacks. Though, the Cardinals bounced back and took a 24-23 lead after a few intense points. NSU saved a set point, but Lamar ended it 26-24.
The Lady Demons started ahead in the fourth, 8-5 after a few more kills by DiFrancesco. However, the Cardinals would come back to tie it 12-12, after a couple big blocks. Lamar then took the lead 16-14, and extended it to 19-15 after NSU miscues. Still down 17-23, Johnson came in to serve once again and rallied the team to four in a row to make it 21-23. Though, Lamar stayed strong and took it 25-22 after a service error ended it.
Up next, the Lady Demons will travel to Lake Charles to take on McNeese State at 11 a.m. on Saturday. NSU took down the Cowgirls, 3-1, in the first meeting on Oct. 15.
