Ladyjacks Face Grambling State in Shelton
10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Stephen F. Austin (16-11, 8-3 Southland) vs. Grambling State (7-19, 0-4 SWAC West)
Wednesday, Oct. 29 • 6:30 p.m.
Shelton Gym • Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats (Gametracker) • Live Video (ESPN3)
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Before the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team engages in its final five regular season Southland Conference matches 0f 2015, it will finish off the non-conference portion of its schedule with a Shelton Gym showdown against SWAC nemesis Grambling State.
Just the third home date out of 11 matches in the month of October, the Ladyjacks re-enter Shelton Gym following a five-match conference road trip in which head coach Debbie Humphreys believes her team got progressively stronger throughout. After beginning that particular stretch with back-to-back losses, SFA has reeled off three consecutive triumphs
“It was good to get back to playing some good solid volleyball,” said Humphreys, who is in the middle of her 28th season at the helm of SFA’s program. “There are a couple of pieces that have been extremely consistent for us – namely Justice Walker, OJ Olson and Makenzee Hanna – and as we get more people who are able to bring that same high level of play night in and night out, this team will continue to be successful.”
Fans who are unable to make the trip to Shelton Gym can follow all of the action via live stats or by heading over to ESPN3 or the WatchESPN app for a live video broadcast with none other than Greg Miller - the venerable authority on SFA volleyball - on the call.
SFA vs. Grambling State: Dating back to 1989, the all-time series between the Ladyjacks and Lady Tigers has been controlled entirely by SFA. In the eight meeting between the two institutions, SFA owns an 8-0 record and has won each of those matches by a score of 3-0.
Scouting Grambling State: Still in search of their first Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) triumph of 2015, the Lady Tigers have compiled a record of 7-19 and have relied on a strong front row presence in Desiree Bishop. The sophomore from Cedar Hill, Texas, leads the team with 70 total blocks which works out to a per-set average of 0.93. Bishop is at the head of a lengthy Grambling State blocking line that boasts four individuals who have amassed 50 or more rejections. Because of their strong front-row play, the Lady Tigers rank second in the SWAC in blocks per set (2.08). No fewer than five players on Grambling State’s roster average at least 1.23 kills per set led by junior Maya Lucas’ 1.66 terminations per frame. Kiara Finley (1.35 kills/set) and Kevreion Ward (1.35 kills/set) round out the Lady Tigers’ top three threats on offense. Owning the ninth-bets digs per set average in the conference (2.59), Alleeyah Hensley serves as one of the leaders for Grambling State’s back-row defense.
Humphreys on Grambling State: “This was a match that was added fairly late in our scheduling process. Grambling had an opening on our week where we only had one match and since we’re used to playing two matches every week it was a great opportunity for us to not just get another home match in October but to keep our normal weekly routine going heading into the final weeks of our conference schedule. To have that opportunity for us to get out in a match situation and continue fine-tuning our game is really important at this stage of the season.”
Last Time Out: Finally able to solidify their lineup and get the consistent production they were lacking, the Ladyjacks finished off a five-match road trip with a pair of Southland Conference triumphs at longtime rival Sam Houston State and Lamar. Limiting the Bearkats to an attack percentage of .078, SFA rolled to a 3-0 triumph over SHSU on Thursday led by a team-best 12 kills by junior Justice Walker. In Beaumont on Saturday afternoon, Makenzee Hanna slammed down a team and career-high 15 kills to help SFA shake off a set one loss and come back for a 3-1 victory over the Cardinals. The Ladyjacks’ win streak now stands at three matches and in their past two matches SFA has outblocked their opponents 25-7.
OJ 2K: Just two Stephen F. Austin volleyball players have amassed 2,000 or more digs in a career, and senior OJ Olson is poised to become the third. Her career total currently stands at 1,999 digs, meaning the Cedar Park, Texas product needs one more to hit the 2K mark. She will join former SFA greats Madison Hanlan (2009-12, 2,192 digs) and Stephanie Figgers (2003-06, 2,596 digs) in the exclusive club. In the national statistical rankings, very few NCAA Division I volleyball players have put up the kind of numbers the Ladyjacks’ back row leader has. Olson ranks 19th in the nation in digs per set (5.13) and fifth in total digs (523).
Block Party: One of the major components of the Ladyjacks’ three-match winning streak has been their strong defensive play in the front row. Over their last three matches, SFA has out-blocked the opposition 34-15.5 which works out to an average of 11.3 rejections per match during that span.
Middle Ground: It’s no secret that the Ladyjacks will work the ball to their middles, but despite that piece of public knowledge, senior Jacque Allen and junior Justice Walker haven’t seen many opponents who can slow them down. Between the two of them, one-fifth of the top 10 hitters in the Southland Conference are represented as Allen ranks sixth in the league with an attack percentage of .314. Walker isn’t far behind as she sits in ninth with a hitting percentage of .303. Both have eclipsed 250 kills and Walker leads SFA with an average of 2.65 per set. In terms of blocking, Allen owns the fourth-best blocks per set average (1.03) in the 13-team league and her 105 total rejections are the 29th-most among all NCAA Division I volleyball players.
Shelton Success: Non-conference teams who hit the floor in Shelton Gym to face the Ladyjacks since 2012 haven’t had very much success. SFA has posted a 10-2 record against foes from outside the Southland Conference in its home digs during that span. The only teams to record wins against the Ladyjacks in that stretch are North Texas (2014) and the University of Louisiana-Monroe (2012).
The 600 Club: The architect of the Ladyjacks’ success, Debbie Humphreys is in the midst of her 28th season as SFA’s head coach and earlier in 2015 she reached a coaching benchmark which few in the NCAA can claim to have laid claim to. With a 3-0 triumph over Columbia in Shelton Gym on Saturday, Sept. 5, Humphreys secured her 600th career coaching victory. Currently, Humphreys is the 16th-winningiest active coach at the NCAA Division I level with a record of 612-314 (.661).
Stacking Up in the Southland: Below is how the Ladyjacks rank statistically in various categories among the 13-team conference:
Hitting Percentage - .207 (4th)
Opponent Hitting Percentage - .200 (5th)
Assists – 11.56 (4th)
Kills/Set – 12.23 (4th)
Blocks/Set – 2.09 (4th)
Service Aces/Set – 1.01 (13th)
Digs/Set – 16.29 (2nd)
Looking Ahead: A golden opportunity for the Ladyjacks to climb up the Southland Conference standings presents itself on Saturday afternoon when SFA makes the long trek from Nacogdoches to Conway, Ark., to tangle with Central Arkansas. The Sugar Bears are sitting in second-place in the 13-team league and are one game ahead of SFA. A win for the Ladyjacks would elevate them from third to second in the conference standings entering the final four league confrontations of the season. First serve is scheduled for noon at the Prince Center.
-SFA-
