Stephen F. Austin
McNeese
SFA Heads to Louisiana for Thursday Evening Match at McNeese
10/24/2018 1:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Ladyjacks set out on final road trip in the month of October
Match Twenty-Six
SFA (23-2, 10-0 Southland) at McNeese (7-18, 5-5 Southland)
Thursday, Oct. 25 | 6:30 p.m. | Memorial Gym (500) | Lake Charles, La.
Live Stats | Watch ($) | Listen (SFAVolleyblog) | SFA Match Notes
Play-by-play/Analysis | Greg Miller
THE FIRST SERVE
• No NCAA Division I volleyball team in the nation has accumulated more wins thus far in 2018 than SFA and Thursday evening in Lake Charles, La., the Ladyjacks put their 20-match winning streak and perfect Southland Conference mark on the line inside Memorial Gym when they take on McNeese at 6:30 p.m.
• Fans unable to make the trip to Lake Charles, La., can follow the action via live stats, a live video stream and the spirited play-by-play of longtime Ladyjack volleyball aficionado Greg Miller as he narrates the action on an internet radio stream available at SFAVolleyblog.net.
• With a win, the Ladyjacks would extend their winning streak to 21 matches and tie the third-lengthiest streak of victories in program history. Both the 2005 and 1994 editions of the Ladyjacks won 21 matches in a row. In 1995, SFA reeled off 25 consecutive victories and that record stood until 2006 when that squad won 26 matches in a row.
• SFA maintains its one-match lead over both Abilene Christian and Sam Houston State for the top spot in the Southland Conference standings. The Ladyjacks have six regular season matches remaining on their schedule and are one of 20 NCAA Division I volleyball teams from around the nation who have not lost a conference match this season.
• Currently, SFA is one of three teams around the NCAA Division I volleyball scene that is riding a winning streak of 20 or more matches. Fifth-ranked Pittsburgh (22-0) has won 22 in a row while top-ranked BYU (20-0) is tied with SFA for the nation's second-longest active winning streak.
• SFA joins BYU and Pittsburgh as the only three NCAA Division I volleyball teams in the nation that have not lost a road match this season. Additionally, SFA has been perfect at home, too, as it's one of 27 programs in the land that has not suffered a home setback.
LAST TIME OUT | at SFA 3, Nicholls 0 (10/20/18)
• Senior outside hitter Haley Coleman hammered down 10 kills on 18 errorless swings to finish with a .556 attack percentage and the Ladyjacks clinched a spot in the 2018 Southland Conference Tournament with a 3-0 victory over Nicholls inside Shelton Gym last Saturday afternoon.
• As a team, the Ladyjacks posted an attack percentage of .353 which was the squad's highest in a Southland Conference match this season. It was the Ladyjacks' eighth .300 or better attack percentage effort this season and represented the team's highest attack percentage since hitting .539 in a three-set victory over Grambling State on September 8, 2018.
• Senior middle blocker Makenzee Hanna added seven kills on the strength of a .462 attack percentage to go along with a pair of block assists.
• Junior outside hitter Xariah Williams reset her career high by firing in three of the Ladyjacks' five service aces in the team's 10th consecutive victory over the Colonels. Drawing the starting assignment, she also generated five kills and eight digs - the second-highest total on the team.
• Sophomore middle blocker Anyia Williams was the third member of the Ladyjacks who hit over .300 in the sweep. The Cedar Hill, Texas, product racked up six kills, a match-high five blocks and finished with a .357 attack percentage.
• Though Nicholls was the first to 15 in all three sets, the Ladyjacks used runs of 4-2 in the first, 4-1 in the second and 11-1 in the third to stave off the Colonels' upset bid. Of the 11 sets the Ladyjacks played last week, they were the first to 15 in just five of them.
• In their first five Southland Conference matches of the season, SFA was the first to 15 in 13 of the 16 sets - or 81.2 percent of the time. In the Ladyjacks' five most recent Southland Conference matches, they have been the first to 15 just eight out of 18 times - or 44.4-percent of the time.
SCOUTING McNEESE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
SFA vs. McNeese | 39-11 (.780)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 22-4 (.846)
In Lake Charles, La. | 13-6 (.684)
At neutral sites | 4-1 (.800)
Streak | SFA won eight
Last five matches | 5-0 (1.000)
Last 10 matches | 9-1 (.900)
In three-set matches | 19-3 (.864)
In four-set matches | 11-3 (.786)
In five-set matches | 9-4 (.692)
Humphreys vs. McNeese | 39-10 (.796)
Fitzgerald vs. SFA | 0-4 (.000)
Last meeting | at SFA 3, McNeese 1 (10/19/17)
• Back home for five of their final six regular season matches, the Cowgirls currently sit in fifth place in the Southland Conference standings with a 5-5 mark in league action. McNeese has seen a great deal of success at home in 2018 as four of its seven victories have occurred in Lake Charles.
• One of the best front-row defensive teams in the league, the Cowgirls rank fourth in the Southland in blocks per set with an average of 2.18. Much of that has to do with the play of freshman middle blocker Paige Havel and sophomore middle blocker Allison Lippert.
• Both members of that underclassman duo rank among the top ten in the Southland in blocks per set. Havel's per set average of 1.23 rejections is the second-best in the Southland and 53rd
highest nationally while her 103 total stuffs are the 24th-most among all NCAA Division I volleyball players.
• Lippert's average of 0.91 blocks per set is the 10th-best in the Southland and her 10 total rejections are the sixth-most in the league.
• In the back row, Angela McGownd continues to maintain a reputation as one of the best liberos in the Southland. With 4.24 digs per set (sixth in Southland) and 373 total scoops (second in Southland), McGownd ranks among the top ten in the league in both categories.
• Juniors Katelyn Elliott and Keegan Nelms are the only two Cowgirls that have accumulated 200 or more terminations this season. Nelms' average of 2.50 kills per set leads the team while Elliot ranks second with a figure of 2.32 per frame.
• Ebony Lewis (1.90 kills/set), Havel (1.82 kills/set) and Lippert (1.65 kills/set) are all frequent contributors to the Cowgirls' offense as well.
THAT WILL(IAMS) DO IT
• Sophomore middle blocker Anyia Williams became the fourth different SFA volleyball player in 2018 to capture a weekly award from the Southland Conference when she was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week on Monday afternoon.
• Williams averaged 1.18 blocks per set during the Ladyjacks' 3-0 week that saw them hand Central Arkansas its first home loss of the season (3-1), defeat New Orleans in four set and sweep Nicholls to remain the only Southland Conference team without a loss in league play.
• A dangerous two-way player, Williams ranks fourth in the Southland in blocks per set (1.14) and fifth in the 13-team league in attack percentage with a season mark of .314. Her blocks per set average is the 93rd-best among all NCAA Division I volleyball players.
WE ROLL DEEP
• All through the 2018 season, the primary calling card of the Ladyjacks has been their depth. That has allowed the team to put up some impressive team numbers without the need for any league-leading individual numbers.
• Five players - Haley Coleman (2.90), Peyton Redmond (2.40), Danae Daron (2.32), Xariah Williams (2.11) and Makenzee Hanna (2.01) are averaging at least two terminations per frame.
• Only one of those players - Coleman - ranks among the top ten in the Southland in terms of kills per set. The senior's 2.90 terminations per frame is the ninth-highest among all players in the 13-team league.
• Three of the Southland's top ten leaders in attack percentage sport SFA uniforms, too. Danae Daron is hitting .321 to rank fourth in the league while Anyia Williams (.314) and Hanna (.312) rank fifth and sixth respectively in the Southland.
• Those same three players have helped SFA rise to the top of the Southland in terms of blocks per set. The Ladyjacks are rejecting 2.54 shots per frame with Daron and Williams ranking fourth in the league with 1.14 blocks per set. Hanna's blocks per set average of 0.91 is the 11th-highest in the 13-team conference.
• The Ladyjacks' floor defense has been headlined by five players who are averaging at least 2.30 digs per set as well. At the head of that line is freshman Sabrina Monaco who ranks ninth in the Southland with a digs per set average of 3.58. Redmond (2.75 digs/set), Marisabel Torres (2.46 digs/set), Coleman (2.45 digs/set) and Hollas (2.36 digs/set) round out SFA's top five floor defenders.
• Because of their depth, the Ladyjacks have seen a variety of different players earn weekly recognition from the Southland Conference. Four different Ladyjacks have been named either the Southland Conference Offensive or Defensive Player of the Week in 2018.
• There are only nine programs in the nation who have had more than four different players earn weekly awards in their respective conferences in the 2018 season. That list includes Austin Peay (five, OVC), Buffalo (five, MAC), Eastern Michigan (five, MAC), Minnesota (six, Big Ten), Morgan State (five, MEAC), Rice (five, C-USA), Texas State (six, Sun Belt), UTSA (five, C-USA) and Western Kentucky (five, C-USA). It's worth noting, however, that all nine of those programs compete in conference that offer at least three different Player of the Week citations while the Southland offers just two.
RIDING HIGH IN THE RPI
• SFA saw its standing in the most recent NCAA Division I volleyball RPI get boosted by seven spots from the previous week as the Ladyjacks checked in at 54th in the weekly rankings which were released Monday morning.
• The Ladyjacks were 47th in the first RPI rankings and dropped to 67 despite winning both of their matches from Oct. 1-8. From there, they moved up to 61 before rising to 54th Monday.
• SFA's RPI is the best in the Southland and 68 spots better than the second-highest team in the league (Central Arkansas, 122).
MOVING UP THE RANKS
• In this week's edition of the VolleyballMag.Com Mid-Major Poll, SFA checked in at 15th. The only Southland Conference squad in the weekly listing, SFA is one of three mid-major programs from the state of Texas in the poll. Joining the Ladyjacks are Rice (18th) and Texas State (22nd).
COMING UP NEXT
• Each of SFA's next three matches will take place in the Lone Star State and that stretch begins Saturday afternoon in Beaumont, Texas, when the Ladyjacks hunker down inside McDonald Gym to take on longtime Southland Conference rival Lamar. First serve has been slated for 1:00 p.m.
-SFA-
