SAN ANTONIO – The University of the Incarnate Word women's volleyball team finished the Louisiana road stretch against Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) on Saturday, November 6. The Cardinals beat the Lions in five sets, 3-2.
 
"Today's match was a great match for us offensively and defensively. I'm proud of the turnaround we had today after Thursday's match," head coach Samantha Dabbs Thomas said. "Everyone played solid volleyball today."
 
Bethany Clapp (23) and Risa Sena (20) combined for 43 kills on the day. Natalie Kimmel set up the offense with 25 assists followed by Natalie Martin with 22. Macy Sumrall had 21 digs on the day followed closely by Clapp with 20.
 
"This was definitely an all-around team win that should boost our confidence going into our last conference match as well as conference tournament," Clapp said. "Risa came in early swinging hard on the outside and gave us all that spark we needed. We played consistently through the match and even when we were down, we continued to fight."
 
The Lions jumped to a ten-point lead early to take the first set 25- 14. The Cardinals bounced back in the second with a 4-0 lead. Sena had back-to-back kills to force a SLU timeout as UIW jumped to a 10-2 lead. The Cardinals continued their dominant second set play to take the set 25-12. The Cardinals and Lions traded points until SLU went on a 6-point run in the third set to win 25-16. SLU went on a 6-point run once more in the fourth set. Sena, Clapp and Chase Jackson came out a timeout with three Cardinal kills to bring the team within five points. The Cardinals rally to tie the set up 19-19. Clapp gives the Cardinals a one-point lead and the Lions answer to tie the set up once more at 21-21 and take the fourth set 25-23. Macy Sumrall had back-to-back aces in the fifth to fuel the Cardinal offense along with kills from Clapp and Sena. The Cardinals took set five to win the match 3-2 over the Lions.
 
"This was a really good match for us. A good well-deserved win that we've been working hard for," Sena said. "We've been looking for a certain spark and I think in this match we found it."
 
UP NEXT
The Cardinals play their last match of regular season against Texas A&M- Corpus Christi on Thursday, November 11. The Southland Conference Tournament begins on November 18.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on Twitter @UIWAthletics and like UIW Athletics on Facebook. 
Follow the team on Twitter @UIWVolleyball and on Instagram @uiw_volleyball.