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Southeastern Louisiana dropped a pair of matches Friday at Auburn Arena, falling to Cal State Fullerton in four, 25-22, 13-25, 26-24, 25-21, and host Auburn in straight sets, 25-14, 25-10, 25-20.

The Lady Lions (0-4) were originally slated to host both Fullerton (2-2) and Auburn (4-0) this weekend in the Southeastern Showdown at the University Center in Hammond, but the four-team event was canceled in the wake of Hurricane Ida. Auburn stepped up to host an impromptu round-robin tournament.

MATCH ONE – Fullerton 3, SLU 1

Fullerton scored the first three points of the opening set, putting the Lady Lions in a deficit it would take most of the set to erase. A solo block by Karlee Wilkerson tied the score, 17-17, before a Wilkerson kill gave SLU its first lead, 20-19. With the Lady Lions up by one, 22-21, Fullerton scored the final four points to claim the set.

Wilkerson led the way in the first set with five kills and three blocks, two of them solo.

Falling behind by four in the second set, 7-3, SLU strung together eight consecutive points to flip the score. Following a kill by Jolie Hidalgo to cap the run, the Titans called a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Lady Lions scored eight of the next twelve and forced Fullerton into another timeout. Up 19-11, Southeastern scored five of the final seven points to even up the match.

The Lady Lions outhit their opponent .448 to .061 in the set, picking up 16 points on kills.

The third set was a slugfest as neither team was able to put any distance until Fullerton took a three-point lead late, 20-17. Southeastern came back to tie it up, 21-21, on Wilkerson’s 12^th kill of the contest. With the score tied once again, 24-24, The Titans scored the final two points to regain the overall lead in the match.

Despite being outhit by SLU once again, .245 to .220, Fullerton used 19 kills and three service aces to claim the set.

In the fourth set, Southeastern was in control until the Titans scored nine out of 11 to build a 20-15 lead. The Lady Lions battled back within a pair, 22-20, but Fullerton finished off the seat and match by scoring three of the final four points.

Wilkerson led Southeastern with 19 kills and five blocks. Cicily Hidalgo added 13 kills to the offensive effort while Crispin Adams and Addie Vidrine added nine kills each. Adams tied Wilkerson with a match-high five total blocks.

Three Lady Lions recorded double-doubles – Gracie Duplechein (18 assists, 13 digs), Ariana Hebert (22 assists, 16 digs) and Cicily Hidalgo (13 kills, 16 digs).

MATCH TWO – Auburn 3, SLU 0

Southeastern hung with the host Tigers through the first eight rallies before Auburn scored seven consecutive points to take an 11-4 lead. A kill by Cicily Hidalgo shaved the SLU deficit to four, 12-8, before the Tigers extended their advantage to nine, 20-11.

Auburn controlled from start to finish in the second set, but the Lady Lions bounced back to start the third. SLU scored five of the first seven points, three of them coming on kills by Cicily Hidalgo. Auburn took the lead, 9-8, and then extended its advantage to as much as five.

Cicily Hidalgo recorded her second double-double of the day. Her 13 kills and 11 digs led Southeastern in both statistical categories. Duplechein handed out a team-high 11 assists.

UP NEXT
Southeastern’s upcoming match, Sept. 7, at Jackson State has been postponed. A makeup date has not be announced. The Lady Lions will now return to the court, Sept. 10, with a pair of matches against host New Mexico and UC San Diego at the UNM Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M.

DIGGIN’ IT CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the Southeastern volleyball program are encouraged to join the Diggin’ It Club. Lion volleyball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.

All membership fees and donations to both the Diggin’ It Club and S Club (volleyball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern volleyball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Lady Lions Volleyball, follow @LionUpVB or @JWhiteSLU on Twitter, @LionUpVB on Instagram, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.