Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
Saturday Morning Southland Matchup Pits SFA against Northwestern State
10/5/2018 11:10:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Southland Conference leaders head to Natchitoches, La., eyeing 16th-straight win
Match Twenty-One
SFA (18-2, 5-0 Southland) at Northwestern State (6-9, 2-3 Southland)
Saturday, October 6 | 11:00 a.m. | Natchitoches, La. | Prather Coliseum (3,900)
Live Stats | Watch ($) | Listen (SFAVolleyblog.net) | SFA Match Notes (PDF)
THE FIRST SERVE
• Fresh off a Thursday night win at Southeastern Louisiana that extended its winning streak to a nation-leading 15 matches, the SFA volleyball team closes out its two-match road trip in the Pelican State Saturday morning inside cavernous Prather Coliseum where the Ladyjacks will engage in a Southland Conference battle with longtime rival Northwestern State. First serve is set for 11:00 a.m.
• One of the land's foremost experts on SFA volleyball - the venerable Greg Miller - will be on location in Natchitoches, La., to provide play-by-play of the 58th clash between the Ladyjacks and Lady Demons via an internet radio stream at SFAVolleyblog.net.
• With Missouri Valley Conference frontrunner Valparaiso idle Thursday night, SFA now stands alone on the NCAA Division I volleyball scene in terms of most wins. The Ladyjacks' 18 triumphs are one more than the 17 the Crusaders have accumulated so far this season.
• SFA's 15-match winning streak ranks as the seventh-longest in the history of the program and the lengthiest since 2014 when the Ladyjacks reeled off 17-straight victories en route to the Southland Conference regular season crown.
• Included in those 15 wins are five Southland Conference victories and SFA remains one of two teams in the league who have yet to drop a conference tilt. The Ladyjacks lead the Southland in attack percentage (.253), kills per set (13.43) and blocks per set (2.51).
• Senior outside hitter Haley Coleman is on a milestone watch Saturday morning, too, as she needs just six more digs to reach an even 1,000 for her collegiate career. The Rockwall, Texas, product is also nearing the 1,000-point threshold (combined total of kills, blocks and service aces) for her career as she needs just 67.5 more points to reach that lofty mark.
LAST TIME OUT | SFA 3, at Southeastern Louisiana 0 | Thursday, Oct. 4
• In their first Southland Conference road showdown of the season, the Ladyjacks' high-powered offense operated at a .255 clip but it was the team's defense that got the job done by holding Southeastern Louisiana to an attack percentage of .008 in SFA's 3-0 victory.
• Making her second career start at libero, freshman Marisabel Torres reset her career-high by diving for a team-best 17 digs in SFA's latest victory. The Pearland, Texas, product was one of four Ladyjacks who racked up at least 11 digs.
• Junior setter Ann Hollas posted her team-leading seventh double-double of the season by dishing out a match-high 20 assists to go along with 14 digs. Senior outside hitter Haley Coleman (nine kills, 15 digs) and senior outside hitter Peyton Redmond (eight kills, 11 digs) also neared double-doubles in SFA's fifth-straight triumph over the Lady Lions.
• Senior setter McKenzie Brewer reached a career milestone in SFA's win, too, passing out the 1,000th assist of her career late in the third set. Brewer passed out 14 total assists in the win and also served up one of the Ladyjacks' five aces.
• Senior middle blocker Makenzee Hanna hit a match-high .538 and finished with seven terminations on 13 error-free swings.
• SFA ran into trouble in the middle frame when Southeastern Louisiana went up 16-11 but the Ladyjacks closed things on a 14-5 run to dodge the Lady Lions' bid to win the set. Southeastern Louisiana committed five unforced errors during SFA's run while Redmond and Danae Daron added two kills apiece.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
SFA vs. Northwestern State | 52-5 (.912)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 26-1 (.963)
In Natchitoches, La. | 21-4 (.840)
At neutral sites | 5-0 (1.000)
Streak | SFA won five
Last five matches | 5-0 (1.000)
Last 10 matches | 7-3 (.700)
In three-set matches | 35-2 (.946)
In four-set matches | 13-3 (.813)
In five-set matches | 4-0 (1.000)
Humphreys vs. Northwestern State | 51-5 (.911)
Kiracofe vs. SFA | 1-5 (.167)
Last meeting | at SFA 3, NSU 0 (9/25/18)
• Currently sitting in a tie for eighth place in the Southland Conference standings, Northwestern State's longest home stand of the 2018 campaign continues Saturday when SFA comes to town. The Lady Demons dropped a 3-1 decision to Central Arkansas Thursday night despite a 20-point effort (15 kills, five service aces) by Reagan Rogers.
• Ever since the season began, it has been Rogers who leads the Lady Demons' offense. Her 3.50 kills and 0.40 service aces per set lead Northwestern State and put her fifth and second in the Southland in each of those respective categories.
• Hannah Brister (2.66 kills/set) and Madeline Drake (2.00 kills/set) rank second and third on Northwestern State's squad in kills per set while Drake's attack percentage of .317 is the best on the team.
• A strong blocking team, Northwestern State sits third in the Southland with its blocks per set average of 2.18. Only SFA and New Orleans have a higher per-set blocking average than the Lady Demons who are led in that category by Brooke Wood and her league-leading blocker per set mark of 1.28 which is the 42nd-best in all of NCAA Division I volleyball. Drake, who had six blocks in the first matchup against SFA this season, is second on the team with a blocks per set average of 0.93.
• Floor defense is another hallmark of this year's Lady Demon squad as reigning Southland Conference Libero of the Year Channing Burleson is back and continuing to patrol the back row admirably. Burleson leads the Southland and ranks 47th in the land with a digs per set average of 4.96
COMING UP NEXT
• In a rare one-match week - SFA's only one of the season - the Ladyjacks return to Texas and travel to the Alamo City for a Thursday night Southland Conference clash at Incarnate Word. First serve inside the McDermott Convocation Center has been set for 7:00 p.m.
-SFA-
