Ladyjacks Open Conference Play On Road
9/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Game 15: Stephen F. Austin (7-7) at Nicholls State (4-9)
Thursday, Sept. 25 (6:30 p.m.) - Stopher Gymnasium (Thibodaux, La.)
• Live Stats | Colonels All-Access
Game 16: Stephen F. Austin (7-7) at McNeese State (9-5)
Saturday, Sept. 27 (2 p.m.) - Memorial Gym (Lake Charles, La.)
• Live Stats | Live Internet Radio Coverage: SFA VolleyBlog | Cowboy Insider
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women's volleyball team will begin Southland Conference action this week when they travel to Louisiana to play Nicholls State on Thursday night and McNeese State on Saturday afternoon. The Ladyjacks enter their conference slate with a 7-7 overall record, but are 5-2 since their last home match on Sept. 10.
"It was really important for us during these first four weeks to solidify our lineup, solidify our subs, and our rotation," head coach Debbie Humphreys said. "We've done that and we're starting to see consistency from certain players. From that standpoint, this team has improved significantly.
"The exciting thing is that we have so far to go still in terms of potential. I think this is a team that you're going to see a lot of improvement from now through the end of conference play."
SFA and Nicholls State will play in Thibodaux, Louisiana, on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. and the Ladyjacks' matchup with McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Saturday will begin at 2:00 p.m.
NOTES:
• SFA vs. Nicholls State - Thursday evening's match between SFA and Nicholls State will be the 42nd meeting between the two schools. The Ladyjacks enjoy a 36-5 advantage over the first 41 contests and have won four straight in the series. Last year, Stephen F. Austin defeated Nicholls 3-2 in a five-set thriller at home (25-18, 15-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-8).
• Scouting Nicholls State - The Colonels enter Thursday's match with a 4-9 record on the season. It will be the first Southland Conference test and first home match for them in 2014. Nicholls began the season 3-1 but have since dropped eight of nine matches, most recently going 1-3 at the North Florida Tournament in Jacksonville last weekend. Sophomore Kali Schwartz was named to the all-tournament team and senior Kalynn Egea, who ranks second in the conference with 246 digs this season, was honored as the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week following the event. Redshirt sophomore Kaci Eaton paces the offensive attack with 188 kills over 13 matches while sophomore Ainsley Marroccoli has a team-high 268 assists on the year.
• SFA vs. McNeese State - The Ladyjacks and the Cowgirls will meet for the 45th time on Saturday afternoon with SFA holding a 34-10 edge in the series. SFA has won four straight against McNeese State, including a 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-14, 16-14) comeback victory last season on Oct. 12.
• Scouting McNeese State - The Cowgirls, who are currently sitting at 9-5, will begin conference play on Thursday against Northwestern State at home. Nine of their 14 matches this season have been in Lake Charles. McNeese State is 6-3 in those contests, including a 4-0 sweep in the Cowgirl Classic from Sept. 12-13. The Cowgirls are on a two-game losing streak, falling in straight sets to Tulsa and Oral Roberts last weekend. SFA and McNeese State have played three common opponents in non-conference action this season - Louisiana Tech, Texas Southern and UL-Monroe - with both sides going 3-0 against the foes. Senior Rachel Cagnina leads the Cowgirls with 154 kills on a .302 attack percentage, junior Kelly Graham heads the distribution effort with 479 assists and junior Kimberlyn Patterson has a team-high 204 digs.
• Up Next - SFA returns to Shelton Gym on Thursday, Oct. 2 to host Incarnate Word in a Southland Conference battle. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. The match will be just the third home contest for the Ladyjacks this season but starts a healthy home stretch for the squad. Eight of SFA's 10 matches over a month span will be played in Nacogdoches, including six straight from Oct. 16 - Nov. 1.
• All-Tournament Team for Ivy - Senior Jill Ivy was named to the All-Rice Invitational Team after a terrific tournament last weekend. 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 is Ivy's second of the season.
• Tournament Champs - The Ladyjacks swept New Orleans, Texas-Pan American and host Louisiana Tech 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.
• Olson Honored - Stephen F. Austin junior libero OJ Olson was named the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the period of Sept. 8-14. The honor was the first of the season for Olson, who led SFA to a 4-0 record during the week. Olson captained the Ladyjack back line, racking up 93 digs across 16 sets during the span. The Cedar Park, Texas native played a pivotal role in a comeback win over Louisiana-Monroe (3-2) on Sept. 10 before helping SFA down New Orleans (3-0), Texas-Pan American (3-1) and Louisiana Tech (3-1) as a part of the Louisiana Tech Invitational. Olson was honored as the tournament MVP for her efforts.
• 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 177 through 14 matches this season to bring her career total to 1,158. She currently needs 98 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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