COMMERCE – Fighting off four set points in the first set, the top-seeded Stephen F Austin Ladyjacks picked up a 3-0 win in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament on Friday night over the eighth-seeded East Texas A&M University volleyball team, ending the Lions' season on Hunt Regional Healthcare Court in the Field House via set scores of 27-25, 25-15, 25-22.
 
The Ladyjacks improve to 21-7 on the season and advance to face fourth-seeded UIW in the Southland Tournament Semifinals on Saturday. The Lions, who serve as hosts of the conference tournament this weekend, end their season with a record of 9-19 overall and tied for seventh in the SLC during the regular season with a record of 7-9.
 
In a back-and-forth affair to start the match, SFA had a 17-14 lead in the first, but then the Lions put together a 10-3 run to have four chances to win the set as the Ladyjacks had four errors during the stretch.
 
SFA fought off all four set points and had a chance to win the set as part of a 5-0 run. The Lions saved the first set point, but lost the set on an attacking error as SFA closed out the set on a 7-1 run.
 
In the second set, the Lions had the early 4-2 lead after taking the first two points of the set, but then SFA won 12 of the next 15 to build a nine-point lead.  The Lions fought three set points in a row, but SFA went up 2-0 in the match on a kill by Camryn Hill.
 
SFA pulled ahead 9-5 to start the third set and had a lead as big as eight, but a 11-4 run pulled the Lions to 21-20. Despite a match point being saved, Hill delivered another kill to seal the match.
 
For the Lions, Gracie Campbell (Klein Oak) led the way with a double-double, posting 13 kills and 12 digs. Haley Mullaney (Victory Christian Academy) had a double-double as well with 16 assists and 10 digs, while Jade Smith (Waco – Midway) had 16 digs, followed by five blocks and five kills from Nevaeh Smith (San Antonio – O'Connor).