VB Lions lasso Mustangs, 3-0

Sodich, Cox crush 16, 11 kills in sweep

Calverley lifts 37 assists, Hudson hits .471

HOBBS, New Mexico  --  Behind a methodically efficient attack, Southwestern Assemblies of God University rolled to a 3-0 sweep of the University of the Southwest on Friday night at the Jack & Mabel Maddox Student Life Center.

SAGU took the best of five match with scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-14. The victory improved the team’s record in the Red River Athletic Conference to 3-1, which places them in a tie for fourth place.

The Lady Mustangs, who topped Sul Ross State University on Tuesday, 3-1, slipped to 3-10 and 0-3 in the RRAC.

Led by Jessica Sodich (Ovilla, Tx / Ovilla Christian) and Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS), who received 74 of the team’s 119 sets from Taylor Calverley (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep), the Purple Pride more than doubled the Ponies in hitting percentage, .202 to .035.

Sodich, a sophomore, finished with 16 kills and hit .188. She also led with 18 digs and a pair of solo blocks. Cox, a junior, was credited with 11 kills and had an attacking percentage of .231.

Calverley set ‘em up with 37 assists in the three games (12.3 per). The junior also scooped up eight digs.

The most effective player at the net was Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS). The senior had just 17 swings, but converted nine of them into kills. With a lone error, her .471 percentage was easily the match-high. She added an unassisted block.

The Lady Lions defense was stifling. They held USW to 25 kills, which was nearly erased by their 21 hitting errors in 115 tries.

SAGU racked up 65 digs, including a baker’s dozen from Emmalee Smith (Red Oak, Tx / Red Oak HS) and twelve by Brittany Briggs (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS).

Team Lioness hit .238 in the first game (20 kills, 10 errors), .143 in the second (11-5) and completed the sweep with a .229 attack in the third (13-5).

The Hobbs Squad combined to hit .031 (5 kills, 6 errors) in the first set, then .109 in the second (13-8). In the final game the Mustangs hit .000 as their seven kills were nullified by seven hitting miscues.

Lady Lions now 4th in RRAC

Southwestern (7-10, 3-1) trails only UT-Brownsville (14-0, 3-0), Texas Wesleyan University (13-8, 2-0) and Our Lady of the Lake University (5-8, 2-0) in the RRAC.

The University of St. Thomas (12-8, 3-1) is tied alongside SAGU in fourth, while Wiley College (14-6, 2-1) is in sixth.

In two matches of interest from Friday night, UTB swept Wiley 25-14, 25-23 and 25-19 in the Rio Grande Valley, and Wesleyan lost to Hardin-Simmons, 3-0, at Abilene. The Cowgirls (13-3) edged the Lady Rams 34-32, 27-25 and 25-23.

During their return trip from New Mexico on Saturday, SAGU will tangle with the University of Texas at Permian Basin (NCAA D2) in Odessa. The match is slated for a 2:30pm first serve at the Falcon Dome.

The match will be available to fans on video livestream and livestats. To access the match, visit http://www.utpbfalcons.com and go to the volleyball schedule. Click on the link of your choice in the right column.

The Falcons (5-8 overall) will play the St. Edward’s University (7-4) Hilltoppers beforehand at noon.

Next V-Ball Action Resumes October 8

Southwestern is off this coming week. The Lady Lions will play five games next week, four of them at home.

The first, on Monday, October 8, will be broadcast by SAGU Sports Live. Mid-America Christian University visits the Sheaffer Center that night for a 7:00pm (CST) match

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.