Netters stroll past MACU, 3-1

Lady Lions improve to 16-11

Seventh straight winning season for SAGU, Coach Moore

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- Southwestern Assemblies of God University won their second volleyball match in a row when they rolled past Mid-America Christian University (5-22), 3-1, Saturday morning in the Sheaffer Center. The Lady Lions took games one, two and four in convincing fashion, 25-10, 25-15 and 25-15, losing only the third set, 25-17.

The triumph, which lifted SAGU to 16-11 for the year, assured head coach Hansford Moore and the team of a winning regular season record for the seventh year in a row. Moore’s career mark rose to 224-169 (.570).

It was the second win over MACU this season and extended the team’s upper-hand to 13-3 over the Lady Evangels since 2005. Last fall, however, Mid-America swept two meetings from Team Lioness.

Junior outside hitter Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS) led the team with 13 terminations, hit .237, made eight digs and had a solo block. It was her third best effort in kills this season.

Joining Hudson in double-figures was freshman flyer Jessica Sodich  (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian). She put down 10 kills. Sodich (SO-ditch) leads SAGU by reaching double-digits in the category for the 13th time.

Showing signs of recovery from a sprained ankle, Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS) added six spikes and hit .292. She made her mark at the net with two solo blocks and a pair of assisted rejections.

Taylor Calverley  (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep) handed out 40 assists to go along with 12 digs and three service aces. Laura Espinoza (Duncanville, Tx / Duncanville HS), an active senior libero, scooped up 18 digs for her tenth consecutive double-digit match. She is main reason Southwestern ranks #5 in the nation in digs.

Alissa Kirk (Pataskala, Oh / Gahanna Christian) recorded nine digs. Tina Brown (New Braunfels, Tx / Lifegate Christian) contributed 12 digs and an ace.

The Lady Lions hit .444 in both the first and fourth games in which they combined for 26 kills against only three hitting errors. For the match they attacked at .209 (36 kills, 17 errors) and held MACU (MACK-yoo) to only .007 (31 kills, 30 hitting errors). Their top player on the court was junior setter Callie Solie (SO-lee), who bagged 27 assists.

Game One

Key plays during the 25-10 rout were two kills by Cox on sets from Calverley for a 12-6 lead. Kirk made an all-out dive for a dig and Hudson detonated two kills during a string of points to give the Lions a 19-9 scoreboard bulge. Calverley served back-to-back aces and Cox added two solo blocks to put the game away.

Game Two

Calverley gave Cox a “tailor-made” set in which she tipped the ball over a double-team for an 11-4 lead. A dig by Hudson dig was bumped to Calverley, who assisted a swat by Cisneros to push the margin to 15-7. Cox went horizontal for a dig before the Evangels closed the game with two hitting errors in a 25-15 SAGU win.

Game Three

Mid-America had their best hitting game at .109 with 13 kills. An ace by Taryn Walker gave the cardinal-clad visitors a 10-4 start. A combo block by Krystal Cisneros (El Paso, Tx / Del Valle HS) and Jessie Giese (Tulsa, Ok / Union HS) and a Hudson ‘hornet’ down the left line drew SAGU to within 11-8. They would get no closer.

A hungry Evangels team passed much better and a dink by Solie, and a kill by Jamie Floyd helped widen their lead to 17-10. Becca Anderson hammered an overpass for the game-point in a 25-17 setback for Southwestern.

Game Four

Sodich banged kills for successive points on helpers from Calverley and Brown before Cisneros spanked one for a 14-7 margin. Cox fired two spikes, Calverley served a pair of aces and Hudson used a set from Kirk for a 20-11 lead. Kirk made a couple of great digs and Amanda Laney (New Braunfels, Tx / New Braunfels HS) put MACU away with two big hits from the right side in a 25-15 victory.

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.