SFA Eyes Conference Title Against Texas State On Saturday
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 9, 2007
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - It all comes down to the final match of the regular season for the Ladyjacks in 2007 with the Southland Conference title on the line.
SFA's win over UTA on Wednesday kept it in control of its own destiny in the SLC and needs a win over Texas State at home on Saturday to clinch at least a share of the conference title. SFA will also honor the most successful senior class in its history on Saturday: JJ Jones, Traci Rohde and Jami Hill.
Texas State will be coming off of a match with Sam Houston on Friday before making the trip to Nacogdoches. If the tournament started today, the Bobcats would be the No. 5 seed in the SLC Tournament that begins next Friday in San Antonio. With a pair of wins this weekend, however, coupled with a UTA loss the Bobcats could still tie the Mavs for second in the SLC West.
A young, athletic team, the Bobcats lead the SLC in blocks per game for the season with 2.99 per contest. Amy Weigle and Emily Jones each average more than a block pergame, while Weigle also leads the SLC in hitting percentage. Lawrencia Brown ranks in the top 10 in the SLC in kills, and expect to see a pair of setters see significant action in freshman Shelbi Irvin and sophomore Brittany Collins as combined they are averaging nearly 13 assists per game.
The last time these teams met was a match that epitomized what this series has come to mean over the last several years. The Bobcats took game one 30-28 before SFA would rally to take the final three, including an edge-of-your-seat comeback in game four. Texas State led for the majority of the final frame and got its first game point at 29-26 before SFA rallied to send it into extra points, and eventually close things out 35-33. JJ Jones would get 45 assists and Lauren Railey tallied 15 kills as SFA moved to 6-0 in the SLC and passed through a possible road block on its way to running its SLC win streak to 62 matches.
What to watch for:
• SFA needs one more win to clinch at least a share of its fourth consecutive Southland Conference title.
• After JJ Jones' 51-assist performance on Wednesday, she now needs 106 more assists before season's end to take sole possession of the all-time assist record at SFA.
• When SFA and Texas State match up on the court, you can almost always count on it going longer than expected. It has been eight matches since SFA last swept the Bobcats, and there have only been four sweeps in the entire series dating back to 2002 - a span of 14 meetings.
• After facing the top blocking team in conference play - UTA - on Wednesday, SFA faces the top overall blocking team in the SLC for the season on Saturday against Texas State. The Ladyjacks were out blocked 8-6 on Wednesday, but still managed to pull out the win. It is only the second time this season SFA has won a match when it was out blocked by its opponent.
