Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Southern
Wildcats beat Jaguars, Lions to open Lion Classic
9/7/2012 6:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HAMMOND, La. - The Wildcats have found Louisiana to be a downright hospitable place.
Led by redshirt freshman Rebecca Fuchs' 31 kills and 18 digs, the Weber State University women's volleyball team stormed to consecutive wins on Friday afternoon at the Tangi Tourism Lion Classic.
After an early-morning wake-up call, Weber State defeated Southern University in straight sets, winning 25-15, 25-11, 25-15, and then rallied from a one-set deficit in the afternoon to defeat tournament host Southeastern Louisiana 21-25, 25-23, 27-25, 25-21 at University Center.
Fuchs had 13 kills, six digs, and three aces in the opening match against the Jaguars, hitting .450, and then followed that up with a career-high 18 kills and a career-high 12 digs, while hitting .386, in the second match against the Lions. It was also Fuchs' first career double-double.
Freshman Mariah Katoa had 16 kills and five blocks in the two matches, while sophomore Audrey Biggs had 16 kills and three blocks. Senior setter Caitlin Penrod had 57 assists, including a season high-tying 42 against Southeastern Louisiana.
Weber State never trailed during the opening match against Southern University, rolling out to large leads early in each set and wrapping the match up in just 61 minutes.
The Wildcats dropped the opening set against host Southeastern Louisiana despite hitting .355 with 13 kills in the set. Weber State quickly rallied however and then took the lead on a pair of nail-biting two-point wins in the second and third sets.
The Wildcats trailed 23-19 and 24-22 in the pivotal third set, but rallied to take a 25-24 lead on a kill by Dama Cox.
A Fuchs kill made it 26-25 for Weber State and the Wildcats claimed the set after a bad set.
Weber State wrapped up the match by scoring four of the final five points after the Lions had pulled within 21-20.
With the win, Weber State captured consecutive wins for the first time since the 2010 season and improved to 4-5 overall.
The Wildcats will be back in action early Saturday morning when they take on Louisiana Tech at 9 a.m., followed by the University of Texas-Pan American at 11 a.m. to wrap up their pre-Big Sky Conference schedule.
