SFA Set For Two SLC Home Matches
10/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Game 17: Stephen F. Austin (9-7, 2-0 SLC) vs. Incarnate Word (5-10, 1-1 SLC)
Thursday, Oct. 2 (6:30 p.m.) – Shelton Gym
• Live Stats
Game 18: Stephen F. Austin (9-7, 2-0 SLC) vs. Abilene Christian (2-13, 0-2 SLC)
Saturday, Oct. 4 (1 p.m.) – Shelton Gym
• Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – After being away from home for more than three weeks, the Stephen F. Austin women’s volleyball team returns to the friendly confines of Shelton Gym this week for two Southland Conference matches. The Ladyjacks will host Incarnate Word for their SLC home opener on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., then turn around for a date with Abilene Christian on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
SFA is coming off two big conference wins, sweeping both Nicholls State and McNeese State on the road last week to start 2-0 in conference play for the third consecutive year. The Ladyjacks are now 9-7 overall, and have won seven of their last nine matches dating back to the team’s last home match on Sept. 10.
NOTES:
• SFA vs. Incarnate Word – Thursday evening’s match between SFA and Incarnate Word will be just the second meeting between the two schools and the first match in Nacogdoches. The Ladyjacks lost to the Cardinals in five sets (27-25, 16-25, 27-25, 23-25, 14-16) last season on Oct. 31 in San Antonio.
• Scouting Incarnate Word – The Cardinals enter Thursday’s match with a 1-1 SLC record and a 5-10 mark overall on the season. UIW fell to conference favorite Central Arkansas in straight sets last Saturday to open SLC play and beat Abilene Christian 3-2 on Sunday. The Birds also dropped a match to SLC foe Texas A&M-Chorpus Christi in non-conference action earlier in the month. The UIW offense is led by junior Angelique Vidaurri, who has 156 kills and a .221 attack percentage over 15 matches this year. The Cardinal attack goes though junior setters Kaitlyn Brooks (299 assists) and Taylor McClelland (208 assists) while the defense is anchored by sophomore Claudia Hernandez, who has a team-high 185 digs in 2014. UIW was picked to finish seventh out of 13 teams in the conference according to the preseason coaches poll.
• SFA vs. Abilene Christian – The Ladyjacks and the Wildcats will continue the young series on Saturday in just the second meeting of the two programs. SFA won 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-13, 25-19) last year on the road against Abilene on Nov. 2. Saturday’s match marks the first time the Wildcats will play in Shelton Gym.
• Scouting Abilene Christian – The Wildcats, who are currently 2-13 overall, 0-2 in the SLC, travel to Natchitoches, Louisiana on Thursday to play Northwestern State before making the trip to Nacogdoches. ACU dropped eight straight matches to open the season before earning its first win against Jackson State on Sept. 13. The team also beat Weber State before opening conference play with two, five-set losses to conference power Central Arkansas and Incarnate Word last week. The Ladyjacks and the Wildcats have faced just one common opponent so far this season, both falling 3-0 to the University of North Texas earlier in September. Abilene is led by a trio of juniors: Jennifer Loerch paces the attack with 197 kills, Sarah Siemens has posted a team-high 390 assists and Madison Hoover has racked up 190 digs through the Wildcats’ first 15 matches. ACU was tabbed 11th of 13 teams in the Southland in both the preseason coaches and SID polls this year.
• Up Next – SFA hits the road again next week for conference matches against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday and Houston Baptist on Saturday. Following the road trip, the Ladyjacks will start a healthy home stretch consisting of six straight matches at Shelton Gym from Oct. 16 – Nov. 1.
• Olson Honored – Stephen F. Austin junior libero OJ Olson was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season this past week. The SFA libero compiled 42 digs over six sets, averaging 7.00 digs per set to help the Ladyjacks defeat Nicholls State (3-0) and McNeese State (3-0) and start 2-0 in the conference. She helped SFA limit the two conference foes to a combined .129 attack percentage over the period. Olson leads the SLC in digs (327) and ranks third in digs per set (5.64) this season. Olson was also recognized for her defensive play during the week of Sept. 8-14 during which time she was named the Louisiana Tech Invitational MVP.
• Helping Hand – The Ladyjacks rank first in the Southland Conference with 12.31 assists per set over the team’s first 58 sets in 2014. Senior Paige Holland is a big reason why. The setter, who currently ranks fifth on SFA’s all-time career assists list with 3,876 distributions, has recorded 485 assists so far this year.
• All-Tournament Team for Ivy – Senior Jill Ivy was named to the All-Rice Invitational Team after a terrific tournament on Sept. 19-20. The outside hitter compiled 36 kills on a .257 attack percentage, dug up 22 balls and dropped in three service aces across SFA’s three matches. The all-tournament honor was Ivy’s second of the season.
• Tournament Champs – The Ladyjacks swept matches against New Orleans (3-0), Texas-Pan American (3-1) and host Louisiana Tech (3-1) at the 2014 Louisiana Tech Fairfield Inn Volleyball Invitational on Sept. 12-13. SFA won nine of 11 sets in the two-day tournament to claim their first team championship of the year.
• Ivy’s 1,000 – Senior outside hitter Jill Ivy became the most recent Ladyjack to go over 1,000 kills, breaking into the four-digit mark against Tennessee State (Aug. 30) in the Arkansas Invitational. Ivy, who entered her final SFA campaign with 981 kills, has recorded 203 through 16 matches this season to bring her career total to 1,184. She currently needs 72 kills to move into the top ten on SFA’s all-time career kills list.
• Tabbed Fifth in SLC – SFA was picked to finish fifth in the Southland Conference in polls conducted by the league’s coaches and sports information directors, the conference office announced Thursday, Aug. 21. The Ladyjacks earned 103 votes in the SID poll and 99 points in the coaches poll.
• Preseason All-SLC – The Ladyjacks placed juniors Jill Ivy and OJ Olson on the preseason all-conference first team, the Southland Conference office announced Wednesday, Aug. 20. Both Ivy and Olson were second-team all-conference selections last season for SFA.
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