Stephen F. Austin
University of Mississippi
Ladyjacks Tangle with Ole Miss in Opening Round of NIVC
11/28/2017 3:36:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SFA takes on Rebels in first postseason appearance since 2006
Stephen F. Austin (26-7) at Ole Miss (17-14)
Wednesday, Nov. 29 | 6:00 p.m. | Gillom Center (1,035) | Oxford, Miss.
Live Stats | Watch (YouTube) | Listen (SFAVolleyblog) | SFA Match Notes
Tickets | $5 (available for purchase at the door)
THE FIRST SERVE
• Back in the postseason for the first time since 2006, the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team heads northeast to Oxford, Miss., where they will take on SEC adversary Ole Miss at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday evening in the opening round of the 32-team National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
• Winners of the 2017 Southland Conference regular season championship, the Ladyjacks earned an automatic bid to the NIVC by claiming their ninth regular season league title. SFA is one of seven teams from the state of Texas that make up the 32-team field for the first NIVC in 22 years. Other institutions from the Lone Star State include North Texas, Rice, SMU, TCU, Texas State and Texas Tech.
• Wednesday evening's matchup with the Rebels marks the Ladyjacks' third appearance in the NIVC. Previously, SFA made the cut for the NIVC in both 1993 and 1995 and has an overall record of 2-6 in NIVC matches.
SFA in the NIVC
12/3/93 | vs. Morehead State | W, 3-0
12/3/93 | vs. Oklahoma | L, 3-2
12/4/93 | vs. Utah | L, 3-1
12/4/93 | vs. Hofstra | L, 3-1
12/1/95 | Fresno State | L, 3-1
12/1/95 | Wisconsin | L, 3-0
12/2/95 | St. Louis | L, 3-0
12/2/95 | Pittsburgh | W, 3-0
• The matchup with the Rebels also marks the Ladyjacks' second bout with an SEC adversary in 2017. In early September, SFA defeated Mississippi State 3-0 in Starkville, Miss., en route to winning the Mississippi State Bulldog Invitational. All-time, SFA has posted an 8-15 (.348) record against SEC opponents.
• The Ladyjacks will be making their first-ever trip to Oxford, Miss., Wednesday. All three of the previous matches between SFA and Ole Miss took place in neutral locations.
• Senior Lexus Cain has been steadily climbing up the Ladyjacks' career digs chart since the season started and the Amarillo, Texas, product can jump up to fourth in program history with another big outing in the back row. Cain has 1,611 digs in her career and needs 21 more to surpass Heather Stumbaugh for fourth all-time.
SCOUTING OLE MISS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Under the direction fourth-year head coach Steven McRoberts, who spent six seasons as the head man at Southland institution Central Arkansas from 2005-10, Ole Miss posted a 17-15 record though the regular season to finish in a tie for seventh place in the SEC standings.
• In terms of floor defense, no SEC team does it better than Ole Miss who leads the league with an average of 16.24 digs per set. That has helped the Rebels hold opponents to a hitting percentage of just .193 - the third-best figure in the SEC.
• Ole Miss leads the SEC in both total digs (1,981) and total kills (1,614) and ranks 30th and 29th respectively among all NCAA Division I volleyball teams in those statistical categories.
• The Rebels' floor defense isn't limited to just a handful of players, either, as four players are averaging at least 2.1 digs per frame. Leading the way in that group is Caroline Adams and her 3.85 digs per set while Kate Gibson generates 3.16 scoops per frame. Lexi Thompson rounds out a trio of Ole Miss players who have amassed 300 or more digs by averaging 3.16 per set.
• Offensively, the Rebels run a two-setter system with Lauren Bars (5.36 assists per set) and Jordan Fate (5.29 assists per set) dishing out helpers to a bevy of Ole Miss attackers. Emily Stroup (3.26 kills per set) and Kate Gibson (3.09 kills per set) lead the way on offense while Thompson (2.80 kills per set) rounds out a group of three players who have all registered 300 or more kills for Ole Miss.
• Nayo Warnell does it both offensively and defensively for Ole Miss as she leads the squad in hitting percentage with a figure of .336. Along with her 1.69 kills per set, Warnell is tops among the Rebels' ranks in terms of blocks as she averages 0.89 rejections per frame.
LAST TIME OUT
• The Ladyjacks won set one but could not get into a consistent rhythm on offense and as a result, dropped a 3-2 decision to eighth-seeded Abilene Christian in the quarterfinal round of the Southland Conference Tournament on Friday, Nov. 17.
• In a battle between two of the top blocking teams in the Southland Conferece, both squads registered 11 total rejections and neither squad hit above .190.
• Sophomore Danae Daron racked up a season-high seven block assists in the setback while fellow second-year player Ann Hollas finished with a career-high 55 assists in the loss. Hollas completed her team-leading 13th double-double by scooping up 11 digs.
• Junior Haley Coleman delivered 13 kills and finished off her double-double effort with 13 digs. In all, four SFA players posted 10 or more digs in the loss.
• Makenzee Hanna led all Ladyjack players with 14 kills in the loss - a season-high for the DeSoto, Texas, product. The junior also produced a season-best seven digs.
• Freshman Morgan Hinds played one of her finest matches of the season, diving for a season and career-high 18 digs in the loss. Senior Lexus Cain added 21 digs in the loss.
ON THE ATTACK
• Junior Makenzee Hanna currently leads all Southland Conference players with a hitting percentage of .350. That currently stands as the sixth-highest single-season hitting percentage in the history of the program and for her efforts the DeSoto, Texas, product was named to the All-Southland Conference Second Team.
• Hanna also leads the team and ranks ninth in the Southland Conference with her blocks per set average of 1.00.
ON THE ATTACK II
• Sophomore Danae Daron has displayed an accurate swing on offense, too, as she has posted a hitting percentage of .325 throughout 2017. The Crosby, Texas, product was named to the All-Southland Conference First Team at the conclusion of the regular season and is averaging 2.39 kills and 0.88 blocks per set
• Daron's .325 hitting percentage is currently the eighth-best in a single season in the history of the program.
AMONG THE BEST
• SFA ranks among the top 50 NCAA Division I volleyball teams in a number of statistical categories including service aces (16th, 185), service aces per set (26th, 1.55), hitting percentage (28th, .257) and opponent hitting percentage (30th, .165).
ACES WILD
• With 185 aces to their credit, the Ladyjacks have used their service game to get the upper hand on their opponents all season long. The only other Southland Conference program with more service aces than SFA this season is Northwestern State (197).
• Leading the way for SFA at the service line are Ann Hollas (39 aces) and Corin Evans (37 aces). Evans ranks fifth in the Southland and 84th nationally with 0.36 aces per set while Hollas sits in sixth place in the league and 132nd nationally with 0.33 aces per set.
COMING UP NEXT
• Should the Ladyjacks emerge as the victors in their NIVC opening round bout against the Rebels, they would advance to play the winner of SIU-Edwardsville and Arkansas State in a second-round game Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. inside the Gillom Center on the campus of Ole Miss.
-SFA-
