Stephen F. Austin
#8 Abilene Christian University
Top-Seeded Ladyjacks Battle ACU in Opening Round of Southland Conference Tournament
11/16/2017 1:42:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SFA and Abilene Christian meet in Southland Conference Tournament for first time ever
Match 33
2017 Southland Conference Tournament | Quarterfinal Round | Tournament Central
No. 1 Stephen F. Austin (26-6) vs. No. 8 Abilene Christian (11-17)
Friday, Nov. 17 | 11:00 a.m. | Dugan Wellness Center (1,000) | Corpus Christi, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (Southland Digital Network) | SFA Match Notes
THE FULL ROTATION
• On a quest to secure the program's first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2006 and fresh off clinching the program's ninth Southland Conference regular season title last Saturday afternoon, the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team heads to Corpus Christi, Texas, as the number-one overall seed in the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament and will face off against eighth-seeded Abilene Christian in the leadoff match of the three-day tournament. First serve inside the Dugan Wellness Center on the campus of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
• For the sixth time in program history, SFA enters the Southland Conference Tournament as the number-one overall seed. The Ladyjacks previously secured the top seed in the league tournament in 1995, 1996, 2005, 2006 and 2014 and have one of their four Southland Conference Tournament titles while competing as the one seed (2006). As the top seed, the Ladyjacks have posted a 7-4 (.636) record in the Southland Conference Tournament.
• Once they hit the court Friday afternoon, the Ladyjacks will be making the program's 30th appearance in the Southland Conference Tournament. Since SFA became eligible for the tournament in 1987, the Ladyjacks have made the cut for it in every season but one (2010). All-time, SFA owns a 28-26 (.519) record in the league's tournament which determines the conference's automatic representative in the NCAA Tournament.
• So far in 2017, the Ladyjacks have amassed 26 victories - the most by the team since racking up 27 a decade prior in 2007. Those 26 victories are tied for the fifth-most in the nation at the moment as only VCU (28), Austin Peay (27), North Dakota (27) and Western Kentucky (27) have totaled more than SFA. With their 26 wins, SFA is one of just two teams in the state of Texas who have won 25 or more matches this season. They join North Texas (26-2) in the group.
• Few teams in the nation possess a more efficient offense or defense than SFA. Heading into Friday's quarterfinal match, the Ladyjacks lead the Southland Conference and rank 29th nationally with a team attack percentage of .261. Defensively, SFA's opponent hitting percentage of .164 is the second-best in the Southland and the 30th-best among all NCAA Division I volleyball squads.
• Junior Makenzee Hanna finished the regular season as the top attacker in the Southland Conference. The junior out of DeSoto, Texas, possess a hitting percentage of .349 that leads the 13-team league and ranks 83rd nationally. With Hanna's league-best attack percentage, three of the last four Southland Conference hitting percentage leaders have worn Stephen F. Austin colors as Justice Walker (.323) led the league in that category in 2016 and Jacque Allen (.334) did so in 2014.
SCOUTING ABILENE CHRISTIAN | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Under the direction of first-year head coach Angela Mooney, Abilene Christian is taking part in its first-ever Southland Conference Tournament as the 2017-18 academic marked the first season in which the now full-fledged NCAA Division I institution is eligible to compete in a postseason conference tournament.
• Although the Wildcats have dropped their last two matches and three of their last four, they wound up as the eighth seed in the Southland Conference Tournament by virtue of the league's tiebreaker criteria. Tied with Incarnate Word for eighth place in the league at the conclusion of the regular season, the Wildcats posted a 1-1 record against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - the highest-ranked team that they and Incarnate Word played. Incarnate Word was eliminated from postseason contention as they went 0-2 against the Islanders.
• Junior middle blocker Lauren Walker was Abilene Christian's only All-Southland Conference representative of 2017. Walker secured All-Southland Conference Honorable Mention status by being one of two players among the Wildcats' ranks who racked up 100 or more blocks through the regular season. The junior averaged 1.04 rejections per set to place eight in the Southland in that category.
• With Walker on its side, Abilene Christian boasts one of the best defensive front rows in the Southland Conference. The Wildcats average 2.40 blocks per set - the third-highest average in the 13-team league - and in addition to Walker freshman Lorin McNeil has also racked up 100 or more rejections this season. McNeil's 107 blocks average out to 1.09 per set - the best figure on the team and the fourth-highest in the Southland Conference.
• Stationed on the back line for the Wildcats, sophomore Amanda Chapa ranks second in the Southland Conference with a digs per set average of 4.85. Chapa's 485 total scoops are the fourth-most by any league player and have helped the Wildcats hold opponents to an attack percentage of .204.
• A trio of Wildcats - led by Jacey Smith - are averaging 2.24 kills per set or better heading into Friday morning's quarterfinal matchup with the Ladyjacks. Smith is hitting .109 on the season but has racked up a team-best 273 terminations. Walker leads the team in hitting percentage (.258) and puts down 2.24 kills per frame while Katelyn Mueller averages 2.48 terminations per set.
• Kendall Bosse runs Abilene Christian's offense by dishing out 8.89 assists per set. From the service line she is also a threat as she ranks second on the team with 29 aces (0.28 per set). Smith is tops on the team with 33 service aces (0.32 per set).
• Friday's match will be the 10th all-time between Abilene Christian and SFA. The Wildcats are 2-7 (.222) against the Ladyjacks and have never beaten them in the month of November.
FOUR SCORE
• A total of four SFA players earned All-Southland Conference recognition when the league unveiled its list of all-conference teams Tuesday afternoon. Junior Haley Coleman and sophomore Danae Daron each earned a spot on the All-Southland Conference First Team while junior Makenzee Hanna and senior Lexus Cain took home All-Southland Conference Second Team honors.
• SFA's four All-Southland Conference selections were the most for the Ladyjacks since they placed five players among the two teams in 2014.
• Coleman, a junior out of Rockwall, Texas, leads SFA and ranks 10th among all Southland Conference players by punching down 2.83 kills per set. Her All-Southland Conference First Team choice was her first All-Southland Conference selection.
• The only sophomore on the All-Southland Conference First Team, Daron's hitting percentage of .327 stands as the second-best among SFA's ranks as well as the fourth-highest when stacked up against all other Southland Conference players. Daron, who hails from Crosby, Texas, posted 11 double-digit kill outings throughout the regular season, totaled the second-highest number of kills on the team (272) and averaged 2.39 kills per set - the third-highest average on the squad.
• From 2016 to 2017, Hanna's attack percentage increased almost by a factor of three - from .093 as a sophomore to the current figure of .349 - and defensively her 104 total blocks lead SFA as does her blocks per set average of 0.99 which ranks as the ninth-best in the Southland.
• Through 114 sets in the regular season, Cain amassed 520 digs - the third-most in the Southland Conference - and ranked fifth in the league with 4.56 digs per set. In league play, Cain averaged 4.98 scoops per frame which helped limit league opponent to a hitting percentage of just .168.
• Against all opponents, Cain's defense held the Ladyjacks' foes to a collective hitting percentage of .164 - the 30th-best opponent hitting percentage in the nation. Currently, Cain's 1,570 digs are the fifth-most in the history of the program.
ALL HAIL HUMPHREYS
• SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys earned the title of Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year for directing the Ladyjacks to their ninth Southland Conference regular season title in 2017.
• It was the sixth time Humphreys, who is in her 30th season in charge of the Ladyjacks, earned the title of Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year from the Southland Conference. That ties her with UT-Arlington head coach Lisa Love for the most in Southland Conference history.
• Humphreys has amassed 662 wins in her career, making her one of only 15 active NCAA Division I head coaches with 650 or more wins to their credit.
LAST TIME OUT
• A wild on-court celebration occurred for SFA once the Ladyjacks posted the final point of their 3-0 sweep of Lamar in Shelton Gym last Saturday afternoon. The win secured the team's ninth Southland Conference regular season title and assured the squad the number-one seed for the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament.
• Sophomore setter Ann Hollas delivered her team-leading 12th double-double of the season by dishing out 33 assists to go along with 14 digs. Hollas was once again dangerous from the service line as she finished with three of the squad's five service aces. That upped her 2017 total to 39 aces - the most on the team and the fourth-highest total in the Southland Conference.
• For the second time in the past three matches, junior outside hitter Peyton Redmond posted double-digit kills. The Liberty Hill, Texas, native racked up 10 terminations on the strength of a .429 hitting percentage in the three-set victory over the Cardinals.
• Sophomore Danae Daron led the Ladyjacks with 11 kills in the win. It was Daron's 11th match with 10 or more terminations this season and it upped her hitting percentage to .326 - the fourth-highest in the Southland Conference.
• Making her first appearance in the starting lineup since Oct. 4 against New Orleans, sophomore Shayla Eagleton helped put the brakes on Lamar's attack by totaling a match-best five block assists. Eagleton also posted four kills and a dig in the victory.
COMING UP NEXT
• If SFA gets past Abilene Christian in the quarterfinal round of the Southland Conference Tournament, it will play either fourth-seeded Houston Baptist or fifth-seeded Northwestern State in the semifinal round at noon on Saturday inside the Dugan Wellness Center with a trip to the Southland Conference Tournament finals on the line.
-SFA-
