BATON ROUGE.--  McNeese volleyball (1-2) picked up its first win of the 2024 season on Monday, defeating Southern 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-23, 225-13) in the final game of its season opening weekend road trip.
 
The Cowgirls will travel to Arlington, Texas this weekend to take part in the UT-Arlington Invitational beginning with a 2:30 p.m. match against UL-Monroe.
 
HEAD COACH SASHA KARELOV QUOTES
"We came out pretty tight and slow in set one and made a lot of uncharacteristic errors.  Kimaya Webb and Megan Grose really stepped up and carried us throughout the match.  We finished on a much more positive note by taking care of our first touch and working smarter with the ball.  I'm happy to finish the weekend out on top."
 
POST MATCH NOTES
• After dropping the first set, the Cowgirls won the next three sets to win the match
• Three Cowgirls recorded 10 or more kills and assists
• McKenzie Moore recorded her first double double of the season with a match high 13 kills to go with 12 digs
• Kayla Wilson and Kimaya Webb both added 11 kills apiece
• Megan Grose dished out a match high 32 assists
• Bailey Tillman led all players with a match high 19 digs
• Kendall Osgood and McKenzie Moore also had double figure digs.  Osgood with 16 and Moore with 12
• McNeese ended the match with 17 blocks
• Webb led the Cowgirls with five blocks
 
Set 1
• McNeese took an early 11-8 lead, but the Jaguars broke a 15 all tie on two Cowgirl errors to take the lead for good
• Southern outscored the Cowgirls 5-3 to close out the set
 
Set 2
• McNeese opened the set by winning the first six points for a 6-0 lead behind the serve of Bailey Tillman
• A kill by McKenzie Moore put the Cowgirls up 13-7
• Southern got as close five points (22-17) late in the set but the Cowgirls even the match with the win.
 
Set 3
• Another fast start for the Cowgirls gave them a 6-3 lead
• Southern went on a run to take a 13-10 lead
• McNeese responded with a run as well to tie the set at 13
• With the Cowgirls trailing 16-15, Moore served for four straight points to put the Cowgirls up 19-16.
• Another four-point run behind Kimaya Webb's serve gave the Cowgirls a 24-19 lead before a Jaguar error ended the set for a 2-1 Cowgirls match lead
 
Set 4
• A 5-0 start for the Cowgirls off the serve of Corynne Hausler gave McNeese the early momentum
• Two mini scoring runs pushed the Cowgirl lead to 18-9 before closing the set on a 4-1 run to win the set and the match
 
UP NEXT
Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 5-7 at UT-Arlington Invitational
Thursday, Sept. 5 vs. UL-Monroe (2:30 p.m.)
Friday, Sept. 6 vs. UT-Arlington (6 p.m./ESPN+)
Saturday, Sept. 7 vs. Santa Clara (12 p.m.)