Stephen F. Austin
New Orleans
Back in Shelton, Ladyjacks Prepare for Wednesday Evening Duel with New Orleans
10/3/2017 9:20:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Ladyjacks have won seven-straight matches against Privateers
Stephen F. Austin (14-5, 2-1 Southland) vs. New Orleans (7-9, 1-3 Southland)
Wednesday, Oct. 4 | 6:30 p.m. | Shelton Gym (600) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN3/ESPN app) | SFA Match Notes
THE FIRST SERVE
• In its only home match through a stretch of over three weeks, the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team aims to get back in the Southland Conference win column by playing host to New Orleans Wednesday evening in Shelton Gym. The 12th all-time meeting between the Ladyjacks and Privateers is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
• One of three Southland Conference teams who have one league loss on their record, the Ladyjacks currently sit in fifth place in the league standings. Although SFA trails Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Sam Houston State, Houston Baptist and Central Arkansas, they are one of only two teams in the league who have taken part in just three Southland matches. All of the other teams in the league have played either four or five conference matches and currently only two games separate the first through fifth-place teams in the league.
• SFA holds active winning streaks of at least seven matches against four Southland Conference squads. New Orleans is one of those teams as the Ladyjacks have claimed seven-straight victories over the Privateers dating back to 2008. SFA has also defeated McNeese seven-straight times while the Ladyjacks' longest active winning streaks against specific Southland foes stands at eight matches against both Nicholls and Lamar.
• Should the clamorous sounds of Shelton Gym be too much for some ears to handle, or if there is simply too much distance to travel in order to get to the Ladyjacks' home facility, each and every point of Wednesday evening's Southland Conference tilt will be streamed worldwide on ESPN3 and the ESPN app. On the call is none other than ardent Ladyjack backer Greg Miller.
SCOUTING NEW ORLEANS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Record vs. New Orleans | 8-3
• In Nacogdoches, Texas | 4-0
• In New Orleans, La. | 2-2
• At neutral sites | 2-1
• Humphreys vs. New Orleans | 8-3
• After suffering through a season in which they posted only five wins - the third-lowest single-season win total in program history - the Privateers have already exceeded their win total from 2016 and have pushed a number of top-flight Southland Conference opponents to the brink while doing so.
• The Privateers began Southland Conference play with a five-set triumph over Incarnate Word before nearly upending two-time defending Southland Conference champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in five sets. Wednesday evening's match at SFA gives New Orleans a chance to put an end to a three-match skid and to earn its first road win of the season. The Privateers are 0-5 in true road matches in 2017 and have never won a Southland Conference match in the state of Texas. Since the Privateers joined the league in 2013, they are 0-13 in conference matches played in the Lone Star State.
• While Blessing Dunn has gotten the most chances to generate kills among the Privateers ranks this season (479 attack attempts), Kaitlyn Grice and Lane Hindenburg have been the team's most effective attackers. Dunn leads the team with a kills per set average of 2.16, but Grice and Hindenburg generate 2.15 and 2.11 kills per set respectively while hitting .300 or better. Among all Southland Conference players, Grice ranks second in terms of hitting percentage (.352) while Hindenburg ranks eighth (.300).
• An imposing presence in the front row, Grice has accumulated a league-leading 16 solo blocks and ranks second in the conference with 78 total rejections. Her 1.26 blocks per set lead the team and rank third in the Southland.
• New Orleans employs a two-setter system with Manela Grau receiving the bulk of the setting duties. Her 6.88 assists per set lead the team but Sarah Thomas has taken part in the Privateers' last seven matches and dished out 4.38 helpers per frame in that span.
• Dunn (2.94), Andrea Nava (2.87) and Rhyan Rand (2.38) all average north of two digs per set.
LAST TIME OUT
• An offensive-minded Houston Baptist eked out a 3-0 win over SFA in Houston last Saturday afternoon to knock the Ladyjacks from the ranks of the Southland Conference undefeated teams. Heading into that tilt, SFA was one of three teams who had yet to drop a league decision in 2017.
• In all, only eight total points separated defeat from victory for SFA as they dropped the match by set scores of 25-23, 25-21, 25-23.
• Junior Haley Coleman punched down a team-high 13 kills for the Ladyjacks, but no other SFA player exceeded seven terminations. Conversely, HBU's Bailey Banks punched down a match-best 21 kills - the most by a single player against the Ladyjacks this season - while Ashtyn Richey chipped in 10.
• Defensively, four HBU players dove for 10 or more digs while SFA's Lexus Cain accumulated a match-high 18 of them. That upped Cain's career total to 1,370, putting her 58 digs away from moving into ninth in program history in total digs.
HANNA'S HITS
• Despite the Ladyjacks' Saturday setback in Houston, junior Makenzee Hanna was still able to attack efficiently and maintain her status as the league's leader in attack percentage.
• The DeSoto, Texas, product is tops in the 13-team league with an attack percentage of .354 in all matches and is also hitting a league-best .475 in Southland Conference bouts.
• Should Hanna continue on her current pace, her attack percentage of .354 would be the fifth-highest in a single season in program history.
• Defensively, Hanna has emerged as one of the best front row players in the league as well. Her 1.04 blocks per set put make her one of eight Southland Conference players who have averaged at least one rejection per frame and in league matches her 1.50 blocks per set is tops in the 13-team conference.
YAY FOR DANAE
• One of four players who have posted at least 100 kills for the Ladyjacks, sophomore Danae Daron ranks third on the team with 164 total kills which translates to a kills per set average of 2.38. Daron's attack percentage of .329 is second only to Makenzee Hanna and among all Southland Conference players it is the fifth-highest.
• Only two Southland Conference teams - SFA and New Orleans - boast two players that are in the league's top ten in terms of attack percentage. With Daron and Hanna on their side, SFA possesses two of the conference's top five most accurate attackers.
FOLLOW THE LEADERS
• Three matches into its Southland Conference schedule, SFA has stayed atop the league rankings in a pair of statistical categories. The Ladyjacks are tops in the conference in both attack percentage (.251) and opponent blocks per set (1.46)
• In Southland Conference-only matches, SFA is tops in the league hitting percentage (.312), kills per set (14.80) and opponent blocks per set (1.20).
LUCKY 13
• When playing inside Shelton Gym, SFA has yet to lose a match in 2017. The Ladyjacks have won all six tilts they have taken part in at that facility and have stretched their winning streak inside Shelton to 13 matches.
• Since the start of the 2015 season, the Ladyjacks have posted an impressive 29-3 (.906 winning percentage) record inside Shelton Gym.
COMING UP NEXT
Each of the Ladyjacks' next three matches will take place away from Nacogdoches, Texas, beginning with a Saturday afternoon meeting with Lamar in Beaumont, Texas. First serve has been slated for 1:00 p.m. inside McDonald Gym.
-SFA-
