McNeese Volleyball

LAFAYETTE- McNeese volleyball ended day one of the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic here Friday with a 3-1 (17-25, 29-27, 25-20, 25-12) win over Florida A&M to improve to 3-3 on the season following a quick turnaround following a disappointing tournament opening five set loss (25-23, 25-27, 25-18, 22-25, 9-15) to UL-Lafayette.

The Cowgirls will conclude tournament action with a 10 a.m. match against Eastern Michigan

vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

Set 1: Cowgirls take an early 7-2 lead in the set.  The Cajuns cut into the Cowgirl lead to move within one point but five straight Cowgirls extends the lead to 17-11. UL-Lafayette took advantage of a few Cowgirl service errors to move to within one point again (20-19) then ties the set at 20 on a kill. With the set tied at 21, McNeese went on to outscore ULL 4-2 to take the opening set.

Set 2: The set started out with six ties before the Cowgirls take an 8-6 lead on two Cajun errors. A block assists by Allison Lippert and Macee Krpec puts McNeese up 14-11. A kill by Kendall Glueck extends the lead to 18-15. ULL scored the next two points but the Cowgirls score the next three to take a 21-18. The Cajuns didn't go away as they would tie the set at 25 all then would score the next two points to win the set 27-25.

Set 3: McNeese opened the set with the first two points then scored three more points for a 5-2 lead. Back-to-back kills by Krpec and Lambert gave McNeese a 9-5 lead. McNeese took its largest lead of the match (12-7) on kills by Lambert and Nelms. McNeese continued to extend the lead to 15-8 on a Clare Mills ace. The closest ULL would get would be 22-17 before the Cowgirls went on a 3-1 run and ended the match on a Kilcrist service ace to take the set 25-18.

Set 4: The Cajuns opened the set by scoring the first six points to take a 6-0 lead before the Cowgirls call a timeout. ULL scores the next two points before Glueck puts McNeese on the board with a kill. The Cajuns led by as much as nine points (23-14) but the Cowgirls fought their way back with five straight points to cut the lead to 23-20 late in the set. The Cowgirls saved two set points before the Cajuns took the set 25-22 to force a fifth and deciding set. 

Set 5: The match was back and forth in the beginning before ULL went on a 3-0 run to take a 7-4 lead. McNeese stayed within reach until the Cajuns opened up a six-point lead (14-8) before closing out the set and the overall match on a kill by Celeste Darling.

 
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEIGH FITZGERALD

"We really feel like we let one slip away against a good UL-Lafayette team. We just couldn't adjust to their serving strategy in the fourth set. When you have a few players who can't play or can't play a role because of health issues, you have to be able to quickly adapt."

McNEESE NOTES vs. UL-Lafayette

• It was the first five set match of the season for McNeese Cowgirls fall to 2-3 on the season

• Three Cowgirls picked up double figure kills. Alexis Lambert and Kendall Glueck both had 12 kills and Keegan Nelms added 10

• Senior Angela McGownd moved into McNeese's Top 5 career digs in set 1. She ended the match with 27

• Nelms also had 16 digs for her fourth double double in five matches

• Setter Caitlin Sharrock also had a double double with 25 assists and 11 digs

• Allison Lippert was tops on the team with five blocks

vs. Florida A&M

Set 1: The Cowgirls stayed within reach of the Rattlers until FAMU went on a 10-4 leading 15-13 to take the set 25-17. The Cowgirls struggle on offense ending the match with nine kills, eight errors and a .059 hitting percent while FAMU had 13 kills with two error and a .423 hitting percent.

Set 2: McNeese let a 16-11 lead slip away as the Rattlers came back to tie the set at 19 all on an ace. The teams would trade points then a Haley Schneider kill would put McNeese up 22-21. The set would go onto to consist of five more ties until the Cowgirls got back to back kills from Lippert and Lambert to take the set 29-27.  

Set 3: FAMU held an early 6-4 lead but the Cowgirls reeled off three straight points to take a 7-6 lead. After a FAMU point tied it at seven, McNeese scored four straight points to take an 11-7 lead and one they wouldn't give up. Another run put McNeese up 18-11 then the Cowgirls closed out the set by scoring the final three points after leading 22-20.

Set 4: Both teams exchanged points in the first two serves then McNeese scored the next five points behind the serve of Avery Kelly to take a 7-1 lead. After a FAMU timeout, Kelly continued to serve for seven more points to extend the McNeese lead to 14-1 before FAMU would score their second point of the match. McNeese continued to dominate the match and went on to win by a 25-12 score.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH ASHLEIGH FITZGERALD

"After the first set against FAMU, I thought we looked pretty good and had some quality contributions from kids who came off the bench in Haley Schneider, Clare Mill, and Avery Kelly. Now we have to recover and get ready for a physical Eastern Michigan team."

McNEESE NOTES vs. FAMU

• improved to 3-3 on the year with the win

• sophomore Avery Kelly served for 12 straight points in the fourth set. She served for five straight to give McNeese a 7-1 lead before FAMU called a timeout then served for seven more after the timeout to extend the lead to 14-1 before FAMU would score their second point of the set.

• three Cowgirls recorded double figure kills for the second straight match. Macee Krpec led McNeese with 14, Alexis Lambert had 13 and Allison Lippert added 12.

•- three Cowgirls also picked up double figure digs. Angela McGownd led with 18, Kendall Kilchrist had 15 and Keegan Nelms added 10.

• Kilchrist also led the Cowgirls with 42 assists to pick up her first double double of the year

• Krpec and Lippert both ended the match with a team high five blocks apiece

• Lippert produced a .421 hitting percent with 12 kills in 19 attempts and four errors