Stephen F. Austin
Louisiana-Monroe
SFA's 2018 Home Debut Pits Ladyjacks against Louisiana-Monroe
9/3/2018 4:58:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Ladyjacks remain at home for six consecutive matches
Match Seven
SFA (4-2) vs. Louisiana-Monroe (2-4)
Tuesday, September 4 | 5:00 p.m. | Shelton Gym (600) | Nacogdoches, Texas
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN+) | SFA Match Notes
THE FIRST SERVE
• After putting nearly 4,000 miles behind it through the first two weeks of the season, the SFA volleyball team is set to make its home debut Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m. when Sun Belt adversary Louisiana-Monroe pays a visit to Shelton Gym.
• Tuesday's non-conference battle will be carried on ESPN+ and the WatchESPN app with longtime SFA volleyball backer Greg Miller providing play-by-play for the Southland/Sun Belt battle. Joining Miller on the call and making her debut on the headset will be Brittany Castledine (neé Burton). A former Ladyjack, Castledine was a two-time All-Southland Conference selection and was named the 2004 Southland Conference Player of the Year.
• Shelton Gym has given the Ladyjacks a distinct home court advantage since the squad moved back into the facility prior to the start of the 2011 season. In that span, SFA has gone 65-20 (.765) at home and over the last three seasons the Ladyjacks are 34-5 (.872) at home.
LAST TIME OUT
• Battles with institutions from the Ivy League, the Big Ten and the Patriot League comprised the Ladyjacks' three-match swing at the Ellis Rowland Memorial Invitational at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., last weekend.
• SFA saw its three-match winning streak to begin the season come to an end when the Ladyjacks dropped a 3-0 decision to Princeton. It was just the second matchup with an Ivy League institution in the Ladyjacks' program history and sophomore Anyia Williams put down 10 kills to lead the way on offense for SFA.
• Against Northwestern on Saturday morning, SFA captured the opening set against the Wildcats before they reeled off the next three to claim a 3-1 triumph over the Ladyjacks. Senior middle blocker Makenzee Hanna and Haley Coleman each went for 12 kills but a trio of Wildcats accumulated 15 or more terminations as part of a 62-kill attack by the Big Ten program.
• Behind a career-high 16 terminations from junior middle blocker Danae Daron as well as a 12-kill, 13-dig double-double by senior outside hitter Haley Coleman SFA held off the host Raiders in four sets during the final match of the invitational. Though SFA finished at a disadvantage in nearly every statistical category, it made the right moves down the stretch of each of the three sets it won to claim victory.
• Freshman libero Sabrina Monaco was named to the Ellis Rowland Memorial Invitational All-Tournament team after leading SFA's efforts in the back row through the weekend. Monaco totaled 48 digs, good for an average of 4.36 per set through the team's three matches.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA-MONROE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
Series | SFA leads 40-3 (.930)
Streak | SFA won five
Last five matches | 5-0 (1.000)
Last 10 matches | 8-2 (.800)
In Nacogdoches, Texas | 21-1 (.955)
In Monroe, La. | 16-2 (.889)
At neutral sites | 4-1 (.800)
In three-set matches | 31-1 (.969)
In four-set matches | 6-1 (.857)
In five-set matches | 3-1 (.750)
Humphreys vs. Louisiana-Monroe | 39-3 (.929)
Friedland vs. SFA | 0-0 (.000)
Last meeting | at Louisiana-Monroe 0, SFA 3 (8/30/17)
• The Warhawks traveled to Starkville, Miss., for the opening weekend of the season and picked up triumphs over both Mississippi State (3-1) and Mississippi Valley State (3-0) in the Starkvegas Classic.
• Since posting that pair of victories Louisiana-Monroe has lost three consecutive matches, all of which were last weekend in the Redhawks Invitational hosted by Southeast Missouri State. Both the Redhawks and Radford earned straight-set wins over Louisiana-Monroe while Southland Conference institution Northwestern State claimed a 3-2 victory over its in-state rival.
• A strong squad in terms of front row defense, Louisiana-Monroe ranks second in the Sun Belt in blocks per set with an average of 2.45. Most of that defensive stopping power on the front line comes courtesy of Taylor Wood and her 1.40 blocks per set average that stands as the third-highest in the Sun Belt.
• Catherine Griffith has serves as the Warhawks' go-to weapon on offense through the early stages of the 2018 campaign. Griffith leads the squad with a kills per set average of 2.19 and is hitting at a clip of .353. That attack percentage leads Louisiana-Monroe and is the sixth-highest in the Sun Belt and she adds 0.90 blocks per set on defense.
• As a team, the Warhawks are generating just 9.33 kills per set which is the second-lowest figure in the 12-team Sun Belt.
• In the back row, Katie McKay is the Warhawks' primary defender and averaged a team-leading 3.33 digs per set which is the 10th-highest average in the Sun Belt.
WHERE THERE'S A WILL(IAMS), THERE'S A WAY
• Just as she did through her freshman year, sophomore middle blocker Anyia Williams has proven to be a highly effective offensive threat for the Ladyjacks so far in 2018.
• Williams leads SFA and and ranks second in the Southland with an attack percentage of .353. Offensively, the sophomore is averaging 2.00 kills per set which makes her one of four Ladyjacks who are striking for at least two terminations per frame.
• Her defense has been a strong component of her game, too, as Williams is averaging a team-leading 0.85 blocks per set. She is one of three Ladyjacks with double-digit blocks, joining junior Danae Daron (14) and senior Makenzee Hanna (11) in that category.
THE KID IS ALRIGHT
• Through her first two weeks of collegiate volleyball, freshman Sabrina Monaco has taken on the role of the Ladyjacks' libero and has proceeded to put up some of the best numbers in the Southland.
• The Southlake, Texas, product leads SFA and ranks second in the Southland Conference with a digs per set average of 4.71. That average is also the 10th-highest among all NCAA Division I freshmen thus far in 2018.
ACE IN THE HOLE
• Half of the Ladyjacks' 30 service aces so far this season have been racked up by two individuals - seniors McKenzie Brewer and Haley Coleman.
• Coleman leads the way with eight service winners while Brewer isn't far behind with seven to her credit.
SPREAD IT AROUND
• Once again the Ladyjacks have been relying on a varied offensive attack to get the job done. Haley Coleman (2.75 kills/set) and Danae Daron (2.60 kills/set) are the only two players who have exceeded 50 total terminations through six matches but both Peyton Redmond (2.24 kills/set) and Anyia Williams (2.00 kills/set) are averaging two or more kills per frame as well.
COMING UP NEXT
• Teams from four conferences around the nation - the Atlantic Sun, Big East, Ohio Valley Conference and SWAC - are set to join SFA in Nacgodoches on Friday and Saturday for The Fredonia Hotel/Holiday Inn Express SFA Invitational. The eight-match invite begins Friday morning at 11:00 a.m. inside Shelton Gym when St. John's takes on Stetson. The Ladyjacks start their tournament schedule at 1:30 p.m. that day by taking on Tennessee State. For a full schedule of The Fredonia Hotel/Holiday Inn Express SFA Invitational, visit the tournament page which is located here.
-SFA-
