Ladyjacks To Begin League Play At Northwestern State
9/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 22, 2010
Northwestern State (8-5, 0-1 Southland) - 7:00 p.m., Sept. 23
Central Arkansas (9-6, 1-0 Southland) - 2:00 p.m., Sept. 25
Northwestern State & Central Arkansas Game Notes
FOR STARTERS
After a 3-1 week that included wins over North Texas, Samford and Arkansas State, SFA will open up conference play on Thursday in what will be its fifth consecutive weekend away from home to begin the season.
The Ladyjacks will face opposite ends of the Southland spectrum over the weekend, opening up with a Demons' team tht won only two matches in all of 2010 before battling the defending league-champion Sugar Bears who own a 23-match conference win streak dating back to 2008.
SFA vs THE DEMONS & SUGAR BEARS
vs Northwestern State, SFA leads 40-0
The last time: SFA 3, NWLA 1 • Nov. 5, 2009 • Natchitoches, La.
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vs Central Arkansas, Tied 3-3
The last time: UCA 3, SFA 0 • Nov. 17, 2009 • Conway, Ark.
FOLLOW THE LADYJACKS
LIVE STATS: Live stats will be available for Thursday's match at Northwestern State at www.nsudemons.com. A live chat will also be available at www.sfavolleyblog.net
On Saturday fans can follow SFA's match at Central Arkansas at www.ucagameday.com with live stats and video available.
UP NEXT
SFA will finally spend its first weekend at home as it turns the calendar from September to October when it hosts the SLC's two South Texas members - UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. From then on, SFA will alternate home and away weekends for the remainder of the season.
BIG HITTERS : Offensively, SFA has been known throughout the years for its balance and consistency. Huge individual offensive numbers are not a normal characteristic of Debbie Humphreys' teams; however, the Ladyjacks have seen several big offensive outbursts this season already. MC Bottles has twice gone over 20 kills this year, the first two times in her career that she has done that. Last week Kelsey Owens put up a career-best 24 kills, which is the most by any Ladyjack since Laura Cramer had 25 at Drake on Sept. 2, 2005. As a team, the three 20-kill individual performances are already the most by an SFA squad since the 2006 team saw someone hit the 20-kill mark on nine separate occasions.
MIKSCH STEPPING UP: With Arielle Daron still out of the lineup, the Ladyjacks have been searching for a complimentary answer to Kelsey Owens on the outside, and in the last two weeks may have found what they were looking for in junior Melissa Miksch. The Austin native is third on the team in kills per set (2.23) and tied for second in digs (2.67) in the last eight matches. In that span she has reached double-figure digs five times, and double-figure kills four times with SFA putting up a 3-1 record in those matches.
LOW FIVE TO HIGH FIVE: After going just 1-6 in five-set matches in 2009, SFA has already been pushed to the limit four times in 2010, and already the Ladyjacks have responded in a positive way. SFA pulled out a five-set win over Butler at the Baylor Classic and then once again in the home opener against ULM. Most recetly the Ladyjacks pulled off a five-set comeback, erasing a 2-0 deficit to win in five over Wisconsin-Green Bay over the weekend.
BURNS' BLOCK PARTY: Sabrina Burns nearly single-handedly took care of Samford on Friday at the Rice Invitational. The sophomore from McAlester, Okla., had a career-best 11 blocks, eclipsing MC Bottles' 10 blocks earlier in the season for the most by a Ladyjack this season. It was also the most by any Ladyjack since Briana Taylor had at least 11 on three occasions in 2007.
AT THE TOP OF TEXAS: Since 2004, only one Division I school in the state of Texas has had more wins and/or a better wining percentage than the SFA Ladyjacks, the perennially powerful Texas Longhorns. SFA has picked up 157 wins in the last six seasons, just four win less than the University of Texas.
STRIVING FOR SEVEN: SFA posted a 24-13 record in 2010 for its sixth consecutive 20-win season, but the team is still years behind the all-time record for consecutive 20-win seasons. From 1992-99 SFA put together eight straight 20-win seasons, which also ties UT-Arlington's run of eight staight from 1982-89 for the Southland Conference record. SFA has its work cut out for it this season, needing to win 13 of its final 16 matches this season to reach the 20-win mark before the beginning of the Southland Conference Tournament.
-SFA-
