Wesleyan topples Lady Lion netters
Rams take match, 3-1, with balanced attack
Sisters of Swat; Hudson, Sodich remain hot
WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- The Southwestern Assemblies of God University volleyball team suffered a demanding 3-1 defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals from Texas Wesleyan University on Tuesday night. The match was played before a packed Sid Richardson Arena in Ft. Worth.
The Lady Lions won the first set, 25-22, and then dropped a grinding 29-27 decision in the second game. TWU, now 3-2 on the young season, went on to win the next games, 25-21 and 25-19.
SAGU received several outstanding efforts during a hard-fought contest that saw both teams hit under .200.
Senior Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS) followed up on her career best of 25 kills in the previous match against Tabor College when she also had 22 digs and scored 27 points.
Tonight she pounded 19 kills and scooped up 10 digs.
After firing three aces in the previous 18 sets, Hudson uncorked eight in the four-set match. That figure is the best in several years and put her on top in the Red River Athletic Conference. She also accounted for a new personal best of 27.5 points.
Teaming with her was outside hitter, Jessica Sodich (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian), who leads the team in kills through 22 games. The 5-foot-8 flyer did similarly. She nailed 15 spikes for points and scooped up 19 digs.
Against Tabor the sophomore swung for a career-best 23 kills and bagged 16 digs.
Junior setter Taylor Calverley (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep) finished with 32 assists and 13 digs versus the Lady Rams.
Two other players added record bests; Brittany Briggs (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS) and freshman Emmalee Smith (Red Oak, Tx / Red Oak HS). Briggs was credited with 28 digs and four assists, with Smith mining for 18.
The Wesleyan Women countered SAGU’s two-person attack with a trio; Katie Rosenbusch 17, Alex Hendee 16, and Meghan Finley with 15.
Holding a .182 to .129 edge in hitting percentage, the Rams owned a 60-47 advantage in kills.
Southwestern’s best game was the first when they combined to hit .294, getting a dozen kills against only two hitting errors. In the final three sets they swung .058, .083 and .135 while averaging seven errors per game.
The Rams averaged 15 kills in the four sets, hitting .211, .179, .118 and .226.
Lion Notes: Upcoming Schedule, Injured 'Cats
“We played fairly well,” said the Lady Lions' Head Coach Hank Moore. “We will play them again in conference play at our place in a few weeks.”
“Hopefully we’ll have Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS) back (from injury). And that will help.”
TWU and SAGU will meet again in four weeks (Sept. 25), in Waxahachie, in a match that will count in the RRAC standings. Over the past four seasons the Lady Lions have split 10 encounters between the two clubs.
Photographs from Tuesday’s action in Fort Worth will be added on Wednesday.
SAGU is off until Saturday, Sept. 8, when they travel to Bethany, Oklahoma for a 1:00pm clash with Southern Nazarene University.
The match will be played in the Sawyer Center.
Team Purple’s first home date is Tuesday night, Sept. 18, when Jarvis Christian College (Tx) comes to the Sheaffer Center.
It was the fifth loss in a row for the young club, who are 1-5. Thwarted by three injured veterans, two of them starters, SAGU is off to their slowest start in the past eight years.
Southwestern has been under .500 after six matches just twice in that span. A year ago they were 2-4, though they recovered nicely to win 21 of their next 32 during a 23-18 campaign.
Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU 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.
Six Match Starts: Last 8 Years
Year After 6 Matches Final W-L Record
2012 1-5 ?
2011 2-4 23-18
2010 3-3 18-19
2009 6-0 27-12
2008 3-3 27-15
2007 5-1 28-15
2006 5-1 21-10
2005 3-3 20-15
