SFA To Host Ladyjack Invitational This Weekend
9/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2009
Alcorn State (0-4, 0-0 SWAC) - Sept. 18, 2:30 p.m.
Houston (2-10, 0-0 Conference USA) - Sept. 18, 7:00 p.m.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-6, 0-0 Southland) - Sept. 19, 12:30 p.m.
Miami (OH) (3-6, 0-0 MAC) - Sept. 19, 7:00 p.m.
William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,202) - Nacogdoches, Texas
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FOR STARTERS
SFA tied for the top spot at the Tulsa Invitational last weekend with wins over Texas Tech and Gonzaga, and nearly getting three wins before Tulsa edged them in five sets in comeback fashion. This week the Ladyjacks return home for only the second time this year when they host the Ladyjack Invitational sponsored by The Grove with Alcorn State, Houston, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Miami (OH) making up the field.
SFA VS THE FIELD
vs Alcorn State, First meeting
vs Houston, Houston leads 4-2
The last time: UH 3, SFA 0 • Sept. 14, 2007 • Houston, Texas
vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, SFA leads 5-0
The last time: SFA 3, TAMUCC 0 • Oct. 15, 2008 • Nacogdoches
vs Miami (OH), Miami leads 3-0
The last time: Miami 3, SFA 0 • Aug. 30, 2008 • Miami, Ohio
FOLLOW THE LADYJACKS
Each match at the Ladyjack Invitational can be followed via Gametracker at www.sfajacks.com with a full recap following each SFA match.
Also, keep up with other news and notes about the Ladyjacks with the Ladyjack Volleyball Blog at sfajacks.com, and at www.sfavolleyblog.net. The matches can also be followed via live video streaming at www.sfajacks.com
WHAT'S NEXT
A Tuesday non-conference tilt at former Southland Conference foe North Texas awaits SFA to wrap up the pre-conference slate at the Mean Green Volleyball Center. SFA then returns home once again to open up Southland Conference play against one of the favorites in the league - Central Arkansas. The Sugar Bears and the Ladyjacks split road wins last season before UCA eventually claimed the SLC East. After UCA, the Ladyajcks will round out the weekend with another league match with Northwestern State, a team it has never lost to.
Most In Texas: Since 2004, only one Division I school in the state of Texas has had a better wining percentage than the SFA Ladyjacks, but nobody has enjoyed more total wins. SFA has picked up 139 wins in the last five seasons up to this point, with nine wins more than the University of Texas. Here is where the top six rank in Texas since 2004:
Team..........Record
SFA...........139-35
Texas.........135-24
Texas State...113-64
TCU...........106-70
Texas A&M......91-66
UT-Arlington...83-80
Little Learning Curve: Freshman Madison Hanlan wasted no time putting her name toward the forefront of the Southalnd Conference, winning the league's Defensive Player of the Week honor in her first try. Hanlan averaged 4.23 digs per set in four matches in the season-opening Northern Illinois Tournament, including 19 digs against Western Illinois. Hanlan currently sits third in the league with 4.19 digs per set, getting at least 15 in seven of her 12 matches this year, including a season-high 24 against Gonzaga on Saturday in Tulsa.
Don't Get Fooled: This weekend's match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi does not count toward either team's Southland Conference record in 2009. The Islanders hail from the SLC West while the Ladyjacks lay in th SLC East, meaning that the teams will only face off once this season - October 12 in Corpus Christi.
Another Ladyjack POTW: Already early on this seaosn the Ladyjacks are doing their part to get their names in the headlines in the Southland Conference. Already freshman Madison Hanlan has been named the SLC Defensive Player of the Week, and now SFA has added another weekly honor as Ashley Bailey was recently named SLC Offensive Player of the Week after earning all-tournament honors at the Tulsa Invitational. Bailey had no less than 11 kills and six blocks in each of SFA's three weekend matches, and is currently second in the SLC with 1.12 blocks per set.
Miksch-ing It Up: With Kelsey Owens still out SFA knew it had to fill the offensive void and in the last five matches it has been Melissa Miksch stepping up to do just that. Originally Miksch was intended as a back-row option with her ball-control skills, and that reasoning has been evident as she has moved into the top 10 in the league with 3.30 digs per set, but she also averaged 2.20 kills per set in eight matches since Owens went down. The Austin native has posted four double-doubles in the past two weekends and has set career highs in both kills and digs.
It's Been A While: The Ladyjacks will say hello to a new opponent on Friday when they host Alcorn State in the opening match of the Ladyjack Invitational at Johnson Coliseum. SFA has never faced off with the Lady Braves before, and if you dig even deeper you will see that SFA does not dip into the SWAC all that often either. The Ladyjacks have not played a SWAC opponent since sweeping Grambling in 2005, but no SWAC team has even set foot in Johnson Coliseum since all the way back in 1993. That year SFA took on three SWAC teams at home, sweeping all three matches that season. The Ladyjacks have never lost at home to a SWAC opponent, only losing single set in 12 matches.
Finding The Offense: Like any year there was significant player turnover for the Ladyjacks following the 2008 season, and like any other year the Ladyjacks will have to have newer faces step in and inherit the offensive load that has departed. However, this year is a little different in the amount of offense that was vacated. With outside hitters Lauren Railey and Shelly Swendig gone, they took over 42 percent of last season's kills with them, and the turnover in setters has left over 83 percent of last season's assist total not on this season's roster. Aside from outside hitters MC Bottles and Ashley Bailey, Kelsey Owens returns as the only outside hitter with over 100 kills from 2008. As for the setter position, the top returner from a year ago is Paloma Buckner who dished out 127 assists from a year ago, which is the least amount of returning assists the Ladyjacks had on the roster since 2003 after Sunni Williams took 1,560 with her in her final season. That year Julie Goodson returned with the top assist mark from the previous season of just 59.
-SFA-
