SFA Preps For Final Road Weekend
11/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 3, 2010
at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11-15, 4-8 Southland) - 7:00 p.m., Nov. 4
at UTSA (17-9, 11-1 Southland) - 1:00 p.m., Nov. 6
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi & UTSA Game Notes
FOR STARTERS
With just two more weeks remaining in the regular season, the Ladyjacks are still squarely in a hunt for a berth in in the Southland Conference Tournament at season's end.
SFA is just a game out of the final spot in the eight-team field, tied with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, who will provide the opposition for the first of the two final road matches of the year on Thursday.
The Ladyjacks will then get its second stab at UTSA, who pulled into a tie for first place in the league last week when it upset defending league champion Central Arkansas at the Convocation Center.
SFA vs THE ISLANDERS
vs TAMUCC, SFA leads 7-1
The last time: AMCC 3, SFA 1 • Oct. 2, 2010 • Nacogdoches
SFA vs THE ROADRUNNERS
vs UTSA, SFA leads 30-8
The last time: UTSA 3, SFA 1 • Sept. 30, 2010 • Nacogdoches
FOLLOW THE LADYJACKS
LIVE STATS: Live stats will be available for SFA's match vs TAMUCC at www.goislanders.com, and for its match at UTSA at www.goutsa.com
LIVE AUDIO/VIDEO: Live video will be available for both matches at www.goislanders.com and www.goutsa.com, while a radio broadcast will also be available for SFA's match at UTSA at www.goutsa.com
UP NEXT
Only one weekend remains, with SFA playing host to its final two opponents from the SLC East - McNees State and Lamar. Both teams are also in the mix for berths in the league tournament that will begin the following week in Huntsville.
THIS WEEK: SFA will get two shots to avenge earlier losses this conference season when they play road matches at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTSA. The Islanders recorded their first ever win in eight tries over SFA on Oct. 2 in Nacogdoches, just two days after UTSA had come into Johnson Coliseum and won for the first time since 2000. The teams are battling for different prizes, with UTSA currently in the driver's seat for at least a share of the SLC crown and a No. 1 seed in the SLC Tournament, while the Islanders are still fighting for the program's first berth in a postseason tournament.
CHASING 1,000: Senior Kelsey Owens is nearing 1,000 kills for her career after picking up 20 kills in matches against Sam Houston State and at Nicholls last week. Twenty-five matches into the 2010 season, Owens sits at 942 kills for her career, and if SFA can qualify for the SLC Tournament, she would need to average just under a dozen kills per match to reach the 1,000-kill plateau with at least one match played in the SLC Tournament.
MIKSCHING IT UP: With libero Madison Hanlan going down with an injury in at Nicholls, the Ladyjacks have turned to juinor Melissa Miksch to fill the libero jersey. She responded with a 16-dig performance in that match at Nicholls and now has 13 games from the back line in which she has picked up at least 10 digs, including setting a season-high with 22 digs against UT-Arlington, just one dig shy of a career best.
TRICK-ARI-TREAT: After missing all of non-conference play, senior Arielle Daron probably did not want the calendar to turn to November after putting together a very solid month of October. Daron hit a season high in consecutive matches with 17 kills apiece against Sam Houston State and Nicholls and surpassed that with an 18-kill outing in a loss to UT-Arlington.bShe has now has hit double figures in kills in her last five of her last six matches, and seven of her last nine dating back to October 2. The most efficient option for SFA on the outside in league play, Daron has put down nearly three kills per set since her return and is one of just two primary hitters for SFA hitting over .200 for the season.
TAKE THE GUN, LEAVE THE PANNONE: Freshman Monica Pannone is starting to fit into the Ladyjack rotation, and the numbers are showing it. Before the last five matches Pannone had not had a match with more than one kill since Sept. 4 against Portland, but in her last seven contests she has averaged nearly two kills per set and has been even better defensively, averaging 3.30 digs per set. She set a new season high with nine kills at Nicholls and became the third Ladyjack with 20 digs in a set when she finished with exactly 20 in a loss last week to UT-Arlington
BUILDING BLOCKS: Saturday's match with Texas State snapped a decent run for SFA at the net after three straight matches with at least 10 rejections as SFA had just 9.5 swats against the Bobcats. Before that three-match run, SFA had only had reached 10 blocks in a match six times on the year, including a season best 20 blocks in a five-set loss to Portland.
-SFA-
