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The Southeastern Louisiana University volleyball team swept past UIW in straight sets, 27-25, 25-21, 25-15, in Southland Conference action Saturday at the McDermott Center.

SLU (3-11, 2-1 SLC) wraps up what turned into a 14-match road trip to open the regular season, defeating the Cardinals (6-11, 1-2 SLC) in the first of two matchups between the schools this fall.

The opening set turned into a defensive struggle as Southeastern’s Cicily Hidalgo and UIW’s Bethany Clapp, the top two offensive players in the Southland, each started slowly. Hidalgo recording six kills against five attack errors in the first and Clapp hitting negative with one kill to go with three attack errors.

Addie Vidrine, a junior from Lafayette, Louisiana, stepped up and helped power the Lady Lions, recording five kills without an error in the initial set. Vidrine added five more kills in the second set.

Three SLU players reached double figures in kills. Hidalgo bounced back after the rough start to finish the contest with a match-high 17. Vidrine tallied 14 total, hitting .500 as she wrapped up the match without an error, and Crispin Adams added 10 kills to go along with three total blocks and a service ace.

Freshman setter Gracie Duplechein picked up her eighth double-double of the season, dishing out 36 assists to go with a service ace and 12 digs. Ansley Tullis posted 13 digs to lead Southeastern.

Defensively, the Lady Lions held Clapp well below her 3.40 kills per set average. Ranked second in the conference entering the match, she recorded just two kills opposite four attack errors to finish the match with a -.077 attack percentage.

UP NEXT

The Lady Lions open the home portion of their schedule with a 6:30 p.m. match Thursday in the University Center against McNeese (8-6, 2-1 SLC). Admission is free to all home matches this season. Fans are asked to enter the arena upstairs at Gate 3.

The conference contest features the annual Dig the Lions promotion with the first 200 students inside the University Center will receive a free t-shirt and food.

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.