VBall sweeps pair in Oklahoma

Lady Lions win 4th-in-last-5 matches

SAGU to face Bacone at 1:00pm on Sat.

WAXAHACHIE, Texas  --  Exploding like clay ducks at a shooting gallery, the Southwestern Assemblies of God University women’s volleyball team swept a pair matches in separate Oklahoma cities on Thursday.

In winning for the fourth time in five matches, the Lady Lions captured two best-of-five meetings.

Against Southwestern Christian University they cruised; 25-16, 25-9, 25-16.

Three hours later they made quick work of Langston University; 25-3, 25-10 and 25-9. The match took only 45 minutes.

It was the third straight sweep this week for the Purple Pride.

The team was able to summon several players, providing court time, while resting a few others in the process.

SAGU will take on Bacone College in a Saturday matinee. The Red River Athletic Conference match is scheduled for a 1:00pm start in Muskogee.

The Warriors (3-9) will come in riding a two-match winning streak. It will be only their second home date of the season.

Lions clip Eagles in OKC

During the 3-0 triumph over SCU (1-12), the team hit a collective .270, racking up 38 kills against only 14 errors. The defense held the Eagles to negative .012. Their 18 kills were countered by 19 hitting errors.

SAGU’s best of the three games was the middle when they collaborated to swing at a .474 clip. A dozen kills were offset by just three errors.

Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS) clipped the Eagles with a team-best .409 attack. She turned 22 attempts into 12 kills. The squad’s lone senior had three hitting miscues.

Hudson added five digs and a solo block at the net. She was set-up third most behind Jessica Sodich (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian) and Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS). They had 27 and 23 swings, respectively. It was just a prelude to Hudson’s effort in the ensuing match at Langston.

Cox pounded 10 kills against four errors while Sodich added nine and seven.

The 'Big Three' on the frontline are the primary targets for junior setter Taylor Calverley (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep). The defending Setter of the Week in the RRAC had an even 30 assists in the three games.

Adding to the assault was junior Brittany Briggs (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS). She unleashed five of the team’s seven service aces.

On the defensive side, Sodich and freshman Emmalee Smith (Red Oak, Tx / Red Oak HS) shared honors with 11 digs apiece. Briggs, Hudson and freshman JJ Abbott (Kenmore, Wash / Cedar Park Christian) registered five each while Calverley had four.

At the net was a season high five solo blocks for the Volley Cats. Cox and Abbott both rejected two while Hudson swatted a solitaire.

SAGU rolls past 'firsthand Lions'

The Lady Lions eased past Langston (0-2), who is just beginning the program in central Oklahoma. An energetic and supportive crowd cheered on the newfangled game in town.

Fellow members in the Red River, the two schools share the same mascot and now, the sport that was originally called mintonette.

SAGU, which had solid play from a pair of Oklahomans, hit .412 with 35 kills and only seven errors in dispatching the ‘firsthand Lions.’

During the front end of three, Team Purp was nearly Team Perfect, whacking nine kills in 14 swings. SAGU made nary an error and hit .643.

Hudson and Sodich each had eight kills and just one miss to hit .538 and .500 respectively. The latter customarily led the team in attempts with 14.

Jessie Giese (Tulsa, Ok / Union HS) (GEES, like geese) had five spikes against two errors, and Caitlin Paschall (Waxahachie, Tx / Midlothian HS) and Abbott collected four apiece.

Cox added three and Hannah Lewis (Broken Arrow, Ok / Broken Arrow HS) powered two kills in five attempts. Lewis hit .400 in her 15th and 16th games of the season.

Calverley made a cameo at setter before yielding to Paschall. The standout at Midlothian recorded 19 assists in two games.

Team Lioness united for a dozen aces, led by three apiece from Sodich, Hudson and Smith.

Sodich led the Purple and Gold Diggers with seven. Briggs scooped up six; Abbott had five while Smith and Hudson were listed with four.

Langston managed nine kills in the three games.

Tuesday's home match to be broadcast in HD

SAGU returns home to face Texas Wesleyan University, currently 12-7, on Tuesday, September 25.

The 7:00pm (CST) match will be aired on SAGU TV by SAGU Sports Live. The pre-game show will start at approximately 6:45pm.

The Lady Lions will take to the road for their next three dates in Hobbs, New Mexico, Odessa, Texas and Houston.

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.