Final Regular Season Road Swing Ahead For SFA
11/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 11, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - With the Southland Conference Tournament on the near horizon, the Ladyjack volleyball team is set to hit the road for the final time this regular season with three matches this week in southern Louisiana scheduled to start Wednesday in Lake Charles.
SFA (18-7, 9-4 SLC) trails Central Arkansas by a half-game in the race for the top spot in the SLC East Division after Saturday's win by the Sugar Bears, but SFA could still claim a share of the Southland Conference title with wins this week and some help amidst the conference.
Those wins for the Ladyjacks will have to come all on the road against McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls State - who is coming off one of the biggest upsets of the conference season when they beat UTSA last week in San Antonio - in a four-day span.
The Ladyjacks have dropped three of their last five matches overall, but did knock off each of this week's opponents in the first round of conference play in Nacogdoches.
Lauren Railey kicked her play into overdrive in recent weeks, having posted six consecutive double-doubles in kills and digs. She hit a career milestone on Saturday as well, showing her long-term versatility by becoming the first Ladyjack and only the eighth player in the history of the SLC to record 1,500 kills and 1,500 digs in her career. She could move into even more elite company by getting hot at the service line as the season winds down, needing only 10 more service aces to join Sam Houston's Jennifer Cron as the only two players in the history of the SLC to ever have 1,500 kills, 1,500 digs and 150 aces in a career.
A Look At The Opponents:
McNeese State: The Cowgirls look to have the inside track for a berth in the SLC tournament, but are looking for wins to increase their seeding. McNeese, led by Chanel Tyler and Nicole Bowden, had dropped three matches in a row before pulling out a sweep of Northwestern State in Lake Charles on Saturday.
Southeastern Louisiana: The Lions nearly pulled off a big upset when they pushed UTSA to five sets before falling to the Roadrunners on Saturday in San Antonio. SELA played well in Nacogdoches in these team's first meeting, stealing a set from the Ladyjacks before eventually falling in four sets. The Lions are one of the top serving teams in the league, sitting fourth in the SLC as a team with a 1.53 per set average.
Nicholls State: The Colonels had lost three of four matches until last weekend when they pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the season by defeating UTSA in four sets in San Antonio, following that up with a solid sweep of TAMUCC. Danielle Daigle rode that momentum to SLC Defensive Player of the Week honors, becoming the first Nicholls player to win a POTW honor since 2003.
What To Watch For:
• Lauren Railey needs 10 service aces to join Sam Houston's Jennifer Cron as the only two players in the history of the Southland Conference with 1,500 kills, 1,500 digs and 150 service aces. Railey has also landed double-doubles in each of her last six matches.
• Whitney Schott, Ashley Bailey, Laurel Kuepker and MC Bottles are all in races to claim statistical titles in the SLC. Schott's 10.35 assists average trails only Central Arkansas' Roby Smith who holds a 10.95 average, while Laurel Kuepker will try and regain her digs lead from UTSA's Kelsey Jewasko who holds a 4.45 to 4.38 edge over Kuepker. Bottles currently holds a .361 attack percentage for the year, the third best mark in the league with UCA's Emily Gordon and Texas State's Amy Weigle each sitting at the top with a .366 clip. Bailey, though, currently leads the league with a 1.04 blocks per set average - the only player in the SLC averaging at least 1.00 block per set.
• If the SLC Tournament started today the Ladyjacks would hold the No. 4 seed, but there is still room for change with this week's play. Lamar and Texas State each sit with two losses in the league, while UTSA and SFA make up the next tier of tournament-eligible teams with four losses. Texas State still has to take on UTSA in San Marcos and TAMUCC in Corpus Christi, Lamar still has Sam Houston in Huntsville, and Northwestern State and Central Arkansas in Beaumont this week. UTSA not only takes on Texas State at Strahan Coliseum, but also UT-Arlington on Saturday at Texas Hall.
-SFA-
