SFA Eyes 14th Straight Victory
11/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Match 28: Stephen F. Austin (20-7, 13-0 SLC) at Northwestern State (11-15, 8-5 SLC)
Friday, Nov. 7 (7:00 p.m.) - Prather Coliseum (Natchitoches, La.)
• Live Stats | Live Internet Radio Coverage: SFA VolleyBlog | DemonTV
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women's volleyball team is set for another big road test on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., when they head to Natchitoches, La. for part two of the season battle with Northwestern State. The two programs met on Tuesday, Oct. 21 with the Ladyjacks sweeping the Lady Demons in Shelton Gym.
At 13-0 in Southland Conference play and two games up over Central Arkansas with three matches remaining, the Ladyjacks can clinch the number one seed in the SLC tournament with a victory on Friday night. SFA needs a win and a Sugar Bear loss this week to secure its first SLC trophy outright since 2006 - a year in which Debbie Humphrey's team posted an unblemished 16-0 record in league play.
The Ladyjacks have put themselves in the driver's seat in the conference by taking care of business very efficiently over the first six and a half weeks of SLC play. The squad has already racked up 11 league sweeps, including a straight set victory over Lamar on Tuesday earlier this week. The last time SFA won more than 11 matches by way of a sweep in conference was in 2007 when the team put up 13.
The Ladyjacks' 13-match winning streak is the sixth-longest active streak in the country among 334 Division I programs. SFA is 20-7 overall, and 18-2 over its last 20 matches dating back to Sept. 10.
NOTES:
• SFA vs. Northwestern State - The Ladyjacks have experienced more success against the Lady Demons than they have against any other team in the Southland Conference. SFA holds a 45-3 advantage in the all-time series heading into Friday evening's match, with all three losses coming within the last two years. In the first meeting this season on Oct. 21, SFA swept NWLA in Shelton Gym (25-19, 25-23, 25-16) despite being held to a SLC season-low .171 hitting percentage. The Ladyjacks lost two, four-set matches against Northwestern State in 2013 and went 2-1 in three meetings in 2012.
• Scouting Northwestern State - Northwestern State currently sits in fifth place in the SLC with an 8-5 record. Besides dropping a 3-0 decision to SFA earlier in the year, the Lady Demons have also lost in straight sets against Nicholls on Sept. 27, in four sets against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Oct. 11 and two matches against Sam Houston State. They most recently fell to the Bearkats on Tuesday earlier this week, 3-1. Prior to Tuesday's match and before the Ladyjacks could get their hands on the Sugar Bears of Central Arkansas this year, Northwestern State swept them on Oct. 30 to end their 38-match conference win streak. By earning a big win over the reigning conference champions, the Lady Demons proved just how dangerous of a team they can be. NWLA was picked to finish second out of 13 teams in the conference according to both the preseason coaches and SID polls.
The Lady Demons are known for their tremendous defensive play and showed that strength by thwarting a potent SFA attack in the first meeting between the programs. The team ranks first in hitting percentage allowed (.152), blocks per set (2.49) and is second in digs per set (17.58) overall this season, although the numbers aren't as strong in conference action with defensive standout and reigning SLC Libero of the Year Keelie Arneson experiencing a season-ending injury in late September. Senior Stacey DiFrancesco and sophomore Bailey Martin have picked up digs in Arneson's absence with 344 and 350 digs each, respectively, this season. Junior Glynna Johnson also is a big factor defensively for the Lady Demons and ranks fourth in the conference with 1.27 blocks per set in SLC matches. Offensively, Northwestern State is led by senior Mackenzie Neely, who has a team-high 261 kills on .225 hitting, and senior setter Emily Johnson, who has tallied 465 assists over 97 sets in 2014.
• Up Next - After Friday's match, SFA will get a few days off before setting out on the longest conference road trip of the season - distance-wise - to end the regular season. The team will drive 342 miles to Abilene, Texas on Wednesday evening and play Abilene Christian the following night at 7:00 p.m. The next day, the Ladyjacks will travel 249 miles to San Antonio to prepare for a match with Incarnate Word on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. After making the trip back to Nacogdoches that night, the team will have ventured more than 900 miles in a four-day span.
The conference tournament is set for Nov. 21-23 in Natchitoches, La.
• Signature Win - The Ladyjacks got a huge win on Saturday, Nov. 1, sweeping conference power Central Arkansas in convincing fashion on Senior Day in Shelton Gym. The win over the reigning conference champions and preseason favorites snapped an 11-match losing streak for SFA against the Sugar Bears dating back to 2007. Jill Ivy produced 13 kills on .417 hitting in the match to lead the Ladyjacks to a .322 hitting percentage in the match. On the other end, SFA limited UCA to a .050 attack efficiency mark - the second-worst hitting percentage for any opposing SLC foe this year. The Sugar Bears rattled off 38 straight victories in conference play over a three-year span that ended one match before they came to face SFA. UCA has won four of the last five conference titles, making the 3-0 thumping by the Ladyjacks all the more impressive.
• Movin' On Up - With 13 kills on Saturday, Nov. 1 against Central Arkansas, senior Jill Ivy passed Traci Rohde (2004-07) for ninth on SFA's all-time career kills list. The outside hitter currently has 333 kills so far in 2014 and sits at 1,314 over her four-year career - 59 kills shy of passing Aubrey Duncan (1991-94) for eighth all-time.
• Record-Breaking Start - The Ladyjacks' impressive 13-0 start to the Southland Conference regular season, and the fashion in which they've won, have had historical implications for the university. SFA hasn't started 13-0 in a conference season since running the table (16-0) in 2006 - a year in which Debbie Humphrey's team also won an NCAA Tournament match. The Ladyjacks have won 11 of their 13 conference matches in straight sets this year and are 39-3 in SLC sets played overall - the best set start in the conference in program history. The 13-match winning streak is the sixth-longest active streak in the nation at the Division I level.
• Beat the Bearkats - The Ladyjacks pulled off the comeback of the season on Thursday, Oct. 23, roaring back from a two-set deficit to beat rival Sam Houston State 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-11, 15-12) in a five-set thriller in Shelton Gym. SFA got a balanced attack on the offensive side of the net with Jacque Allen recording 13 kills, sophomore Justice Walker posting 11 and senior Jill Ivy slamming down 10 winners on the evening. The Ladyjacks tied a season-best with 17 total blocks to complete the comeback. It was the second two-set hole SFA climbed out of this season, as they also knocked off Louisiana-Monroe 3-2 on Sept. 10. The team is 3-0 in five-set contests overall this year.
• Perfect 3-0 Week - The Ladyjacks came out of their busiest conference week of the year unscathed, beating Northwestern State (3-0), Sam Houston State (3-2) and Lamar (3-0) at home from Oct. 21-25. Jacque Allen was lights out and OJ Olson had a huge week on the defensive side of the ball to pace SFA. Allen had a team-high 28 kills on .463 hitting and rejected 18 balls over the three matches while Olson tallied 61 digs, including 28 against SHSU, in the span.
• History for Holland - With her second assist against Houston Baptist on Oct. 11, senior Paige Holland became just the fifth player in SFA history to reach 4,000 career assists. Entering the match with 3,998 career assists, it didn't take long for Holland to surpass the milestone mark. The setter dished one up to Jill Ivy early in the first set, who proceeded to complete the kill. Holland has 901 assists overall this season and currently ranks fifth all-time with 4,292 assists over her four years in the program. The Ladyjacks are first in the Southland Conference with 12.76 assists per set over the team's first 94 sets in 2014 and Holland is second with 11.60 assists per set in conference matches.
• Efficient Attack - The Ladyjacks continue to be efficient in the attack and rank among the best in the SLC in nearly every offensive category. Sophomore Justice Walker and junior Jacque Allen, two of the Ladyjacks' hottest hitters over the last month, are a big reason for the success. Walker has hit at least .375 in seven of the last nine matches. The Fort Worth native notched 12 kills and swung at a staggering .688 clip against New Orleans on Saturday, Oct. 18 to claim the best single-match hitting percentage in the conference this year. Allen, who is hitting .437 in SLC matches, is the most efficient hitter in the conference over the entire season. She is 41 percentage points ahead of the next closest mark in SLC play. The Ladyjacks rank first in the Southland in hitting percentage (.293), assists per set (13.64) and kills per set (14.36) over the first six and a half weeks of SLC action.
• Olson Honored - Stephen F. Austin junior libero OJ Olson has been named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week two times this season, most recently for the week beginning on Sept. 22. The SFA libero compiled 42 digs over six sets during the week, 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 is second in the SLC in digs (491) and digs per set (5.22) this season. Her digs per set average is good enough to rank 21st in the nation among all Division 1 players. 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. She is one of only two athletes to be honored with the SLC award twice.
• All-Tournament Team Recognition - 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 333 through 27 matches this season to bring her career total to 1,314.
• 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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