SFA Set To Open Title Defense In '07
8/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 21, 2007
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The 2007 Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks volleyball team will open up defense of its Southland Conference crown this weekend when it travels to Omaha, Neb., to participate in the Bluejay Invitational.
The Ladyjacks will be joined by Montana State, Middle Tennessee and Creighton in Omaha for the weekend. The Bobcats will serve as the season-opening match on Friday.
The final match of the weekend versus Creighton will be broadcast free of charge online at www.kvss.com. All matches can also be followed as they happen via Live Stats by going to www.gocreighton.com and clicking on the Live Stats link under the schedule tab on the right side of the page.
"It is always exciting to get to this point because you are ready to play someone other than yourself," SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys said. "This is a great early-season tournament that is going to give us an excellent gauge on where we are right now. The competition is very strong with Middle Tennessee making the NCAA Tournament last year and Creighton coming from a very strong volleyball conference that sent two teams to the NCAA Tournament as well."
Humphreys is beginning her 20th season guiding the Ladyjacks and will have the luxury of an abundance of offensive firepower with 86 percent of the team's kills returning from a year ago. With the loss of only two letterwinners from last season - Laura Cramer and Stephanie Figgers - it was no wonder that the Ladyjacks have been tabbed in the preseason polls to repeat as SLC champions in '07.
"I feel really good about where we are, going into this season," Humphreys said. "The returning players have already started doing some good things including taking over their new leadership roles. The new players have been very encouraging as well and are getting better every day. That is all we can ask of them at this point."
Seniors Traci Rohde and JJ Jones are ready to get things going after nabbing preseason All-SLC honors. Each will be on record chases of their own this season, beginning with Jones, who needs exactly 1,000 assists to break the school's all-time mark. Rohde, on the other hand, has her sights set on an elite club at SFA. With only 40 more kills and 53 more blocks, Rohde will become only the third Ladyjack to ever tally 1,000 kills and 400 blocks in a career.
The outside-hitting tandem of juniors Lauren Railey and Shelly Swendig could be on the verge of a dominating season as well. The duo combined for 848 kills as sophomores in 2006 and have each been named to preseason All-SLC honors of their own. That combination along with Jones' offensive direction, looks to be an explosive formula for 2007.
This weekend will mark the first time that Humphreys has led her lineup against any of the three teams on the schedule. Overall, the Ladyjacks will see five schools that they have never faced off with and four within the first two weeks of the season. Last season SFA was 4-1 in matches against first-time opponents.
Montana State enters the fresh year looking to rebound from a rough 2006 season that saw the Bobcats put together a 7-21 record and a first-round elimination from the Big Sky Tournament. The Bobcats have been picked at the bottom of the conference for the upcoming season. Raelene Purnell is the only returnee that was in the team's top four in kills a season ago. She will obviously be asked to play a bigger role with only three starters returning.
The final two matches of the tournament will give the Ladyjacks an early indication of how good this season could be as the competition quickly stiffens. Middle Tennessee is coming off an impressive season that saw them claim the Sun Belt Conference's regular season and conference tournament titles. In addition, the Blue Raiders notched an NCAA Tournament first-round match over Louisville before being eliminated by Ohio State. Matt Peck's club compiled a 27-8 record a season ago and returns 11 letterwinners to a team that finished ranked 34th in the national RPI last year.
All-American outside hitter Ashley Adams is back for her junior season after totaling 547 kills (4.45 kpg) last year and claiming MVP honors of the Sun Belt Tournament. Adams will be joined on the front line by All-Sun Belt first-team selections Quanshell Scott and Ashley Asberry. Scott finished second in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.363) while Asberry led the league in blocks (1.50 bpg). Sophomore setter Leslie Clark will quarterback the offense after dishing out a league-best 1,158 assists in 2006.
Creighton will serve as the host team for the weekend and has already earned a third-place prognostication in the Missouri Valley Conference for 2007. The Bluejays picked up 21 wins a year ago, falling just short of the NCAA Tournament. Kelly Goc and Korie Lebeda are all-conference returnees from last year's team that finished third in the MVC. Goc has already earned preseason All-Missouri Valley honors as well after leading Creighton in hitting percentage and blocks in 2006. Lebeda has led the conference in assists the past two seasons and enters '07 after having picked up a double-double in her last seven matches of 2006.
Head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth is looking for Bluejay history this weekend as well. The fifth-year coach has already accumulated 67 wins in her tenure, one shy of the all-time mark at Creighton. Two more victories would give her the outright record.
The Bluejays, who share the state with the defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers, drew their fair share of fans to Omaha in '06 and finished ranked 16th in the nation in attendance. Over 12,000 fans showed up at the Qwest Center Omaha when the Bluejays and Cornhuskers faced off last September. Creighton stole game one over the eventual national champions before falling in the match 3-1.
The Ladyjacks and the Bluejays have something in common as CVU.com named both teams to the list of the top five digging teams in the nation in 2006.
SFA schedule for 2007 Creighton Bluejay Invitational:
SFA vs Montana State - Fri., 5:00 pm CDT
SFA vs Middle Tennessee - Sat., 12:30 pm CDT
SFA vs Creighton - Sat., 7:00 pm CDT
