SFA Heads To Louisiana For Weekend Invitational
9/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Game 9: Stephen F. Austin (3-5) vs. New Orleans (4-3)
Friday, Sept. 12 (5 p.m.) - Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, Louisiana)
• Live Stats | SFA VolleyBlog
Game 10: Stephen F. Austin (3-5) vs. Texas-Pan American (1-6)
Saturday, Sept. 13 (12 p.m.) - Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, Louisiana)
• Live Stats | SFA VolleyBlog
Game 11: Stephen F. Austin (3-5) vs. Louisiana Tech (2-4)
Saturday, Sept. 13 (6:30 p.m.) - Thomas Assembly Center (Ruston, Louisiana)
• Live Stats | LA Tech All-Access | SFA VolleyBlog
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack volleyball team, after picking up a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Louisiana-Monroe inside Shelton Gym, will head to Ruston, Louisiana, to take part in the 2014 Louisiana Tech Fairfield Inn Volleyball Invitational.
SFA, owning a 3-5 record after picking up its first home win of the 2014 season, will play New Orleans, Texas-Pan American and host Louisiana Tech, across the two-day tournament inside Thomas Assembly Center beginning this afternoon.
NOTES:
• SFA vs. New Orleans - SFA and the Privateers, though Southland Conference foes, will meet in non-conference play at 5 p.m. The meeting marks eighth clash between the two teams with the Ladyjacks holding a 4-3 edge. SFA and the Privateers most recently met last season, playing twice, with the Ladyjacks picking up 3-0 (9/19) and 3-1 (11/9) victories in home-and-home visits in league play.
• Scouting UNO - The Privateers enter the tournament with a 4-3 record on the season. UNO has victories over Texas Southern (3-1), Mississippi Valley State (3-0), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-1) and Alcorn State (3-0) with losses to Prairie View A&M (3-2), Grand Canyon (3-0) and Southern Miss (3-0). The Privateers most recently went 2-1 in the own tournament, the UNO Invitational, defeating UAPB and ASU, before falling USM. Redshirt freshman Cara Sander leads UNO with 76 kills, across six matches and five starts. Junior Sara Hammoutene distributes the attack with 185 assists, while Mikayla Sellers-Wiebe leads the back line with 63 digs.
• SFA vs. UTPA - SFA and the Broncos will meet for the 12th time on Saturday, with the Ladyjacks holding an 11-0 all-time advantage. The meeting pits head coach Debbie Humphreys against former assistant coach Brian Yale (2005-10), who is in his fourth year at the helm of the UTPA program.
• Scouting UTPA - The Broncos enter the tournament with a 1-6 record on the season, having already played three other members of the Southland Conference. UTPA picked up its lone win against Lamar (3-1), dropping matches to Louisiana-Monroe (3-0), Mississippi State (3-1), Sam Houston State (3-2), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1), Texas Tech (3-0) and Northern Arizona (3-0). Sophomore Alisha Watson leads the Broncos with 53 kills through seven matches and four starts. Freshman Mary Kate Clark distributes the attack with 180 assists, while senior libero Nausheen Merchant captains the back line with 93 digs.
• SFA vs. LA Tech - SFA and the Lady Techsters will meet for the 25th time on Saturday, with the Ladyjacks holding an 17-7 all-time advantage. The two teams most recently met last season, with SFA prevailing 3-2 inside Shelton Gym (9/10/13).
• Scouting LA Tech - The Lady Techsters enter their own tournament with a 2-4 record on the season, having already played one member of the Southland Conference in McNeese State (9/5). LA Tech, after opening the season with a 3-0 loss to Oakland, alternated wins and losses its next four matches, before most recently falling 3-0 to Texas-Arlington on September 6th. Rebecca Redgen leads the Lady Techster attack with 61 kills through six starts. Freshman setter Brooke Short distributes the attack with 105 assists, while sophomore libero Alejandra Aviles leads the back line with 77 digs.
• Up Next - Following the 2014 Louisiana Tech Fairfield Inn Volleyball Invitational, SFA will play its final tune-up before beginning with Southland Conference play, taking part in the Rice Invitational in Houston. The Ladyjacks will play Louisville, Texas Southern and host Rice, across the two-day tournament inside Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston.
• 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 95 through eight matches this season to bring her career total to 1,076.
• 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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