Sub-plot sparks V-Ball sweep

SAGU has Big Win, Big Loss

Lady Lions win 5th straight, lose key player in Cox

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University Volleyball team rolled to a 3-0 sweep of a short-handed Southwestern Christian University team on Monday night.

Head Coach Hansford Moore, utilizing three new starters in place of regulars, and the Lady Lions had little problem in disposing of a visiting roster that was down to seven. The resulting 25-12, 25-15 and 25-11 clipping of the Eagles was SAGU’s fifth consecutive win.

It is the longest string of match wins since five in succession at the same time in 2010. The Lady Lions, at 12-8 in all matches, remain in third place in the Red River Athletic Conference.

Krystal Cisneros (El Paso, Tx / Del Valle HS), the team’s senior veteran on the frontline, is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Her presence at the net is felt most in her ability to block shots, where she ranks #4 in the RRAC. With 89 rejections, she is at #14 in the NAIA nation.

In her place, Coach Moore inserted Jessie Giese (Tulsa, Ok / Union HS) at Middle Blocker. The 5-foot-11 freshman became the third former member of the Union Redskins to start this season at Southwestern; joining Jacob Anderson (football) and Natalie Pena (women’s soccer).

Giese (pronounced like geese) made the most of her extended play this week in place of Cisneros. Pictured above, she led the team in hitting percentage at .375 while pounding eight kills.

Jessica Sodich (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian) continues to pace the club in kills, and led for the second straight match with 12. Amanda Laney (New Braunfels, Tx / New Braunfels Christian) took advantage of a starting role by smashing seven kills and had a .227 night.

While Sodich and Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS) clearly lead the team in authoritative clout with their power swings, Laney showed some command of her own with several big hits.

Stephanie Pena (San Antonio, Tx / Clark HS) and Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS) each smashed four spikes, where SAGU ruled the net against SCU (now 7-10), finishing with a 43-16 margin in kills.

The Lions suffered another injury towards the end of the second set. Cox (right) got tangled up with an opposing player after a play above the net that saw her suffer an undisclosed leg injury. She and Cisneros left the Sheaffer Center on crutches.

SAGU received solid play from a pair of sophomore setters in Taylor Calverley  (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep) and Carleigh Dollar (Brock, Tx / Brock HS). The former bagged 25 assists while the latter registered 9 to go along with two service aces.

He Said It 

"It was a win that was accompanied by a big loss," Coach Moore said following the match. "Right now we have two of our very best players sidelined for what could be an extended period of time. Both of these girls are major players for us on offense and defense." 
 
"But like in life, this will be a great growing time for our young team," he continued. "With that said, we will work hard at putting the best possible line-up on the floor. This too will pass. Now, as a team, we need to control what we can and let the other things take care of themselves. """""""

Game One

SAGU trailed 9-2 in the first game when Coach Moore put Hudson and Devan Guynes (Red Oak, Tx / Red Oak HS) into the fray. Moments later they rode Guynes’ hot service game, Hudson’s digs and a kill by Giese for a 10-9 lead.

When Calverley set a 'taylor-made' assist that Hudson crushed, SAGU had the lead for good, 11-10.

They rolled to a convincing win as Laney hammered back-to-back sets; Giese added two more and Calverley nailed an exclamation point for a 24-12 lead. Sodich polished it off with a shot down the left line.

Game Two

Dollar’s sets were cashed into points like sales at Macy’s for a 9-3 advantage. Kah-ching!

Sodich, lock-and-loaded by four Calverley sets, triggered a rally with four bullets at the net for a 15-3 lead. The game ended when an Eagles’ overpass was converted into an easy point at the net by Pena for the final point.

Game Three

A tip by Tina Brown (New Braunfels, Tx / Lifegate Christian) on the right side gave Team Lioness a 7-3 start. Sodich and Giese provided kills and an ace by Guynes made it a 13-5 game.

Dollar rang-up an assist that Giese spiked and SAGU was rolling at 19-9. A laser by Laney and a bolt off the hands of Sodich brought up match-point.

Pena (PAIN-ya) brought the pain when, setup by a Brown assist, she put away the Eagles with an attack for a 25-11 victory.

SAGU heads north of the Red River

The Lady Lions return to the court on Saturday, October 8, when they travel to Oklahoma City to face Mid-America Christian at 1:00pm and Southwestern Christian again, this time at 4:00pm.

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.