Todd Ryals

Wildcats Fall Just Short in Five Sets

10/19/2017 12:50:00 AM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score

Only six points separated the Louisiana College women's volleyball team from their first win in program history on Wednesday night in Shreveport. For the first time in its young history, the Wildcats played a decisive fifth set in the best-of-five match. It would be Centenary College, though that would prevent that breakthrough win at the end of the night, taking the match 25-21, 23-25, 25-9, 24-26, 15-9. LC finishes their home schedule this weekend with matches against East Texas Baptist on Friday night and LeTourneu University on Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats proved from the beginning of the night that they were there to play, in their second effort against in-state opponent Centenary. The tightly contested first set saw three major momentum swings before the Ladies benefited from a Wildcat attack error and a block to win the opening stanza 25-21. Down by three early on, the Wildcats made a play for the lead with Paris Babino at the serve. LC scored five straight points on three Sadi Jones kills, a Babino ace, and another kill from Jaslyn Bright to go ahead 11-9. The lead escaped the Wildcats quickly as Centenary made a five-point swing of their own to regain the advantage. LC kept things close the rest of the way, even holding a lead at 17-16, but Centenary got some help from LC at the end of the set with a pair of attack errors that led to the 25-21 defeat.

The second set appeared to be going the way of Centenary as they held a 10-3 lead on the Wildcats early. The set turned when the Wildcats went on a 9-1 run to erase a seven-point deficit and go on top 16-15. Kills from Bright and Jones as well as aces from Babino and Olivia Huval were helped by three Centenary errors and a Wildcat block at the net. Although Centenary got to a 20-16 advantage, and looked to close the set with a win, the Wildcats were determined to finish strong. Seven kills, four of them from Jones, brought LC storming from behind to end the set on a 5-0 run to even the match at one set apiece.

Even with the momentum on their side after the key set victory, the Ladies came out swinging and ran away and hid with the third set. Centenary converted on over half of their attack attempts in the third set, with 15 total kills and only two hitting errors, by far their most efficient set of the night. The Wildcats gave Centenary only three points on attack errors in the quick third set.

Undeterred by the 25-9 loss in the third, the Wildcats regained their composure during the break and came out ready for the fourth set. LC took a quick 4-0 lead and held their advantage until a 7-1 stretch in the Ladies favor tied the match at 12. From that point forward it was a back-and-forth set between the two sides, neither one able to take full control of the match. A critical timeout by head coach Brittany Salloum slowed the momentum of Centenary after they rattled off four points in a row to take a 22-20 lead. Two clutch kills from Jones out of the timeout tied the set, and with match point staring them in the face at 24-23, Jaslyn Bright kept hope alive with a crucial kill to tie the match at 24. A Centenary attack error off the ensuing serve and a tip kill from Taylor Payne gave the Wildcats their second set win of the night, forcing a deciding fifth and final round.

With only 15 points needed in the fifth set to claim victory, the Wildcats got off to a great start with an ace from Babino and another kill from Jones for the 2-0 lead. The Ladies came right back to go on top and took the 7-4 lead. The Wildcats got a pair of kills from Bright and another from Zharian Maxmillion before the set ended, but Centenary had their second best hitting performance of the night in the decisive set. With no attack errors and 10 kills in the set, the Ladies were almost as good as their dominating third set performance, eventually escaping with the 15-9 win over the Wildcats.

New season-highs were set in both kills and assists after the match was over as Sadi Jones ended the night with 19 kills and Paris Banino with 40 helpers. Olivia Huval had her second match in the last week with more than 30 digs. Jaslyn Bright also tied a season best with 16 kills in the match. Jones and Taylor Payne were also impressive at the net, with four blocks each on the night.

The Wildcats host East Texas Baptist on Friday night at H.O. West Fieldhouse with a 7pm start time. The match will also serve as a the team's cancer awareness night, where fans are encouraged to wear purple and bring donations that will be collected for the Side Out Foundation in support of brest cancer research. Stay connected with Louisiana College volleyball by following them on Twitter @LC_wvolleyball or liking them on Facebook.

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