V-Ballers lance Crusaders, 3-0

 SAGU now 2-0 at home

Guynes' aces spark comeback from 8-0 deficit 

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University volleyball team swept the University of Dallas, 3-0, in a match that could be described as a midseason battle of grit.

The Lady Lions, now 9-8 overall, took all three games; 25-21, 25-20 and 25-17 over a U-of-D squad that went 26-11 last fall. SAGU must match-up well against the Crusaders, whom they have now beaten nine straight times. Suffering their four consecutive setback the ‘Saders slipped to 6-9.

While they hit only .152 as a team, the Lady Lions’ defense held the Crusaders to .109. Dallas led the match in kills (32 to 29) and in hitting errors (21 to 15).

A critical shortfall that led to their downfall came from the back row. Dallas had eight service errors and zero aces, contrasted to SAGU’s five errors and eight aces.

 The Lions, as they did on Friday versus Bacone College, came up with the crucial points with each game on the line.

SAGU overcame a two-point deficit in the first game, scoring the final six points.

Southwestern, playing before another solid crowd, had their best hitting game during their 25-20 triumph in the second set. They had 11 spikes and only two errors for a .310 attack percentage in that game. Through two sets they had committed only eight hitting errors. At the same time, the Blue Crew had 17.

The third and decisive game went south quickly as the Crusaders built an 8-0 advantage. That’s when the home team staged a “major wow factor” during a memorable comeback.

Devan Guynes (Red Oak, Tx / Red Oak HS) unleashed her mojo from the backline with a series of serving aces that ignited the team. She fired three in a row to give Team Purp a 15-13 lead and they were never headed. She finished with six aces, second only to the seven she blistered against Friends University.

Guynes, a sophomore, now has 33 unreturnable serves, which is second in the Red River Athletic Conference.

Down the stretch in the third game, Krystal Cisneros (El Paso, Tx / Del Valle HS) and Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS) teamed up for combo blocks and Amanda Laney (New Braunfels, Tx / New Braunfels Christian) crushed one kill, then uncorked the match-winning spike.

An easy choice as the Chicken Express Player of the Match was Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS). The junior outside hitter scored five more points than anyone else on the team, while racking up 10 kills, all coming on power swings. Hudson also added two aces. Her season total of 19 is bested only by Guynes.

Freshman Jessica Sodich (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian) pounded eight kills and hit .368. Cisneros whacked five, and, along with Cox, led the team with three assisted blocks apiece.

Delivering Doom: Hudson, Sodich

Hudson and Sodich have become the top tandem in delivering doom from the frontline. Besides their likelihood of thunderous spikes, the pair have reached double figures in kills a combined 15 times. The rest of the team has 12.

For Hudson, she has smashed 10-or-more spikes in each of the past four matches, and six times during the past eight. Only Sodich and Hudson have connected for double digits in three or more straight matches.

Taylor Calverley  (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep) registered 25 sets. Her average of 8.3 assists per game on Tuesday was very commendable considering the number of errant passes to her from teammates.

Laura Espinoza (Duncanville, Tx / Duncanville HS) led in making digs on defense, with nine. “Lo” was again high in salvaging rallies. Tina Brown (New Braunfels, Tx / Lifegate Christian) had seven, while Guynes, Sodich and Calverley each had six.

The Start of High Definition Broadcasts

SAGU Sports Live broadcast the match over the internet. The HD livestream was a first for Southwestern volleyball, whose winning records over the previous six seasons is tops among teams on campus.

Five of the Lady Lions remaining seven home matches will be ‘streamed. Posted on this website at www.sagu.edu/athletics under Schedule is a listing of those broadcasts.

Clay Scarborough is the host and play-by-play announcer. Tim Roberts, a SAGU student, serves as color analyst.

The Itinerary for Team Lioness

The Lady Lions depart for a weekend trip to Austin and Houston. They will take on Huston-Tillotson University (1-13, 0-1 in RRAC) on Friday at 6:30pm inside the Mary E. Branch Gymnasium. SAGU swept a pair of matches last fall.

SAGU (9-8, 1-1 in RRAC) faces the conference’s newest member, the University of St. Thomas (9-5, 1-0 in RRAC), in a 1:00pm Saturday matinee at the Jerabeck Activity Center. The teams split two meetings in 2010, both decided in 3-2 decisions.

The Purple Pride returns home next Tuesday, October 4, with a clash against Southwestern Christian University (Ok) at 7:00pm. The best-of-five will be broadcast on SSL.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde , Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.