Stephen F. Austin
Central Arkansas
Ladyjacks Start Southland Action with Saturday Showdown against Central Arkansas
9/21/2018 8:16:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SFA picked first, UCA second in 2018 Southland preseason poll
Match Sixteen
SFA (13-2, 0-0 Southland) vs. Central Arkansas (10-3, 0-0 Southland) | Saturday, Sept. 22 | 1:00 p.m. | Shelton Gym (600) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (Facebook Live) | SFA Match Notes (PDF)
THE FIRST SERVE
• After putting the wraps on one of the best regular season non-conference runs in program history last weekend in Denton, Texas, the SFA volleyball team returns to the cacophonous confines of Shelton Gym Saturday afternoon to start Southland Conference play by hosting Central Arkansas at 1:00 p.m.
• Saturday afternoon's marquee league matchup pits the 2017 regular season Southland Conference Champions in the Ladyjacks and the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament titleholders in the Sugar Bears against one another for the 20th time. In the 2018 Southland Conference preseason poll, SFA was picked to finish first in the league with Central Arkansas selected for a runner-up finish.
• Of the 11 matches the Ladyjacks have taken part in during the month of September, they have dropped just one of them - a four-set loss to the Big Ten's Northwestern up in Hamilton, N.Y., on September 1. Since that setback, SFA has reeled off 10 consecutive triumphs and owns the nation's seventh-longest winning streak.
• Through its 15-match non-conference slate, SFA accumulated a record of 13-2 and currently those 13 triumphs represent the most by any NCAA Division I volleyball team in the nation. Other teams around the land that have won 13 matches so far in 2018 are fellow Texas institution Houston (13-2, American Athletic Conference) and Valparaiso (13-2, Missouri Valley Conference).
• SFA's 13-2 start is tied for the best through the first 15 matches in the history of the program. The Ladyjacks have started 13-2 six times in program history with the most recent of those fast starts before this season coming in 2008.
• Saturday's matchup against the Sugar Bears represents the beginning of a four-match home stand for the Ladyjacks. SFA will remain in Nacogdoches for the remainder of the month before playing six of its eight October matches on the road.
• Shelton Gym has given the Ladyjacks a sensational home court advantage over the last half-decade. SFA has won seven-straight matches inside that structure and possesses a 49-6 (.890) winning percentage in matches played there since the start of 2014 season.
LAST TIME OUT
• By securing a strong 3-1 non-conference victory over rv Wichita State last Friday (Sept. 14) in their opening match of the North Texas Challenge in Denton, Texas, SFA used that momentum to go out and defeat both the host Mean Green (3-2) and Mississippi State (3-0) in order to run its winning streak to 10 matches.
• Senior Makenzee Hanna and junior Ann Hollas earned spots on the North Texas Challenge All-Tournament Team for their play through the weekend. Hollas enjoyed perhaps the best all-around weekend of her career by producing 2.17 kills per set to go along with 6.58 assists, 1.33 digs, 0.75 blocks and 0.33 service aces per frame. The junior out of Longview, Texas, hit .600 or better in two of the Ladyjacks' three matches and posted a pair of double-doubles through the weekend.
• Hanna was no slouch either, finishing with a cumulative attack percentage of .333 through SFA's three tilts. The DeSoto, Texas, product pounded down 2.58 kills per set to go along with 0.92 rejections per frame. She was one of six Ladyjacks who averaged 2.00 kills per set or more through that three-match swing and not one of those individuals exceeded 2.92 kills per set.
SCOUTING CENTRAL ARKANSAS | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
SFA vs. UCA | 6-13 (.316)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 4-5 (.444)
In Conway, Ark. | 2-7 (.222)
At neutral sites | 0-1 (.000)
Streak | SFA won one
Last five matches | 3-2 (.600)
Last 10 matches | 3-7 (.300)
In three-set matches | 4-8 (.333)
In four-set matches | 2-2 (.500)
In five-set matches | 0-3 (.000)
Humphreys vs. Central Arkansas | 6-13 (.316)
Jones Chatman vs. SFA | 2-2 (.500)
Last meeting | at SFA 3, UCA 0 (9/21/17)
• Possessing an impressive amount of firepower thanks to the services of reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year Samantha Anderson as well as fellow senior Haley Tippett, the Sugar Bears head to the Lone Star State eager to start their league schedule off with a marquee victory.
• Anderson and Tippett are tied for the most terminations in the Southland Conference having put down 159 each through the Sugar Bears' first 13 matches. Anderson leads the club with 3.46 kills per set but Tippett has been impressive as well by posting 3.06 kills per set. Between the two of them, 45.6-percent (318) of Central Arkansas' 698 total kills are represented.
• Setting up the Sugar Bears' high-powered offense is Elizabeth Armstrong who is one of four players who have taken part in all 13 of the team's matches thus far in 2018. Armstrong's assists per set figure of 8.04 leads the team and has helped Central Arkansas post Southland Conference leading numbers in both assists per set (12.54) and kills per set (13.42).
• With a good mix of offense and defense in her arsenal, Savanah Allen has turned into an excellent third option on the attack. Allen ranks third on the squad with a kills per set average of 2.49 but has excelled at the front of the net with a blocks per set average of 0.95 which leads the team and ranks ninth in the Southland.
• At the service line, Amanda Dimon tops a trio of Sugar Bears with double-digit service aces. Her 17 lead the team and represent the third-highest total among all Southland Conference players.
• Stationed in the back row, libero Emily Doss has accumulated a Southland Conference-best 213 digs thus far in 2018. That translates to a team-leading average of 4.10 per set and makes her one of three players with 100 or more digs for Central Arkansas this season.
• Most of Central Arkansas' matches have been played at neutral sites as the squad has secured six of its 10 wins this season in neutral bouts. UCA has picked up a single win in its three true road matches and like SFA, the Sugar Bears have not lost a home match (3-0).
POLL POSITION
• Following their exploits in Denton, Texas, last weekend, the Ladyjacks leaped into the VolleyballMag.com Mid-Major Poll for the first time in 2018.
• In the weekly listing that is released every Tuesday, SFA checked in at number 25 in the nation to make them one of two new teams in the poll. The Ladyjacks are the only team in Texas as well as the only team from the Southland to appear in the poll.
SOUTHLAND SUPREMACY
• Far more often than not, the Ladyjacks have found themselves on the winning side of the scoreboard in Southland Conference matches when Debbie Humphreys occupies the coaching chair. Now in her 31st season, Humphreys is the owner of an astounding 349-119 record in Southland Conference matches.
• Of the 21 current and former institutions that have competed under the Southland Conference banner, only Central Arkansas (148-46, .763 win %) holds a better winning percentage in Southland matches than the Ladyjacks' mark of .745.
• Under Humphreys' watch, the Ladyjacks have finished below the .500 mark in Southland Conference play only five times through 30 seasons dating back to 1988.
• On three occasions, Stephen F. Austin has made it through the entire Southland Conference schedule without suffering a setback. The most recent of those campaigns took place in 2014 when SFA laid claim to its eighth league crown. Prior to that, SFA ran the table in 2005 (19-0) and 2006 (16-0).
ONE HOLL OF A WEEK
• After posting a major statistical milestone and helping the Ladyjacks finish off one of its best non-conference regular season runs in the history of the program, junior setter Ann Hollas was named the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career Monday afternoon.
• For the week, Hollas hit an impressive .307 and averaged 1.81 kills per set while also helping to run SFA's offense as a whole. The junior dished out 6.56 assists per set and racked up four of the Ladyjacks' 31 service aces.
• Against Rice on Tuesday, Sept. 11, Hollas posted the first of her three double-doubles on for the week with a 26-assist, 14-dig effort in order to help SFA claim its first victory over the Owls in over a decade.
• In SFA's opening match of the North Texas Challenge, Hollas dished out 30 assists while also racking up 10 terminations, seven digs and five blocks to help lead the Ladyjacks to a 3-1 victory over rv Wichita State. In the Ladyjacks' win over the Shockers, Hollas became just the seventh player in program history to reach 2,000 assists in a career.
• Against North Texas the following morning, she helped SFA squash an upset bid by the Mean Green by firing in two of her match-high three service aces in the fifth and final set during the Ladyjacks' 3-2 win.
• SFA closed out its perfect weekend with a 3-0 victory over Mississippi State in which Hollas totaled 10 kills and completed another double-double with 14 assists. Against both rv Wichita State and Mississippi State, Hollas turned in 10 terminations while hitting at a clip at or north of .600.
ACES WILD
• By bringing a considerable amount of pressure from the service line, SFA has been able to get the upper hand on its opponents so far this season. The Ladyjacks rank second in the Southland and 39th nationally by averaging 1.66 aces per set.
• Leading that attack from the service line is Hollas who has generated a team-high 14 aces, but the junior is hardly the only player bringing the heat from there. In all, six players have totaled 10 or more aces for SFA this season including Peyton Redmond (13), Marisabel Torres (13), Haley Coleman (12), McKenzie Brewer (12) and Danae Daron (10).
• Through the last five matches, it has been Torres - a true freshman - who has been the most dangerous from the service line. During that span, the Pearland, Texas, product has racked up 11 of her 13 winners to product an impressive average of 0.58 per set.
WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING, HERE
• Arguably the best attack-repelling trio in the league sports SFA uniforms as senior Makenzee Hanna, junior Danae Daron and sophomore Anyia Williams have joined forces to give the Ladyjacks an overpowering front row defensive presence.
• Daron leads the team, ranks fourth in the Southland and 114th among all NCAA Division I volleyball players with 1.12 blocks per set while Hanna is second on the team and 10th in the Southland with a blocks per set average of 0.94. Daron's block total of 56 is the second-highest in the Southland while Hanna's 49 are the third-most in the league.
• Though she was sidelined by an injury for a six-match stretch through the Ladyjacks' non-conference slate, Williams has been highly effective when she has been on the court. The sophomore has totaled five or more blocks in four of the ninth matches she has played in so far and that includes a season-high six in a five-set victory over North Texas.
• Williams' blocks per set average stands at 0.91 and she has helped SFA rise to second in the Southland and 70th nationally with a blocks per set average of 2.33 as a team. Opponents are hitting just .171 against SFA, giving the Ladyjacks the second-best opponent attack percentage in the Southland.
TWO WILL DO
• Although SFA boasts no players that have a kills per set average north of 2.80, that has done nothing to stop the Ladyjacks' effectiveness on offense.
• Senior Haley Coleman tops SFA's list of termination producers with 2.74 per set while junior Danae Daron (2.56), senior Peyton Redmond (2.49) and sophomore Anyia Williams (2.03) are all averaging at least 2.03 kills per frame.
• Senior Makenzee Hanna is two kills away from joining Coleman (145), Daron (128) and Redmond (112) in 100-kill territory as she has 98 thus far in 2018. Hanna is averaging 1.88 kills per set while junior setter Ann Hollas has been deployed more and more on the pin in the Ladyjacks' two-setter system. Hollas has generated 1.52 kills per set on the strength of a .244 attack percentage.
• As a team, SFA leads the Southland and ranks 42nd in all of NCAA Division I volleyball with an attack percentage of .255.
COMING UP NEXT
• A busy, three-match week of Southland Conference action begins Tuesday evening at 6:30 p.m. for SFA when it plays host to longtime Louisiana rival Northwestern State. The 57th all-time meeting between the Ladyjacks and Demons will be broadcast nationwide on ESPN with Greg Miller and Brittany Castledine on the call.
-SFA-
