Friday, December 1
Fayetteville, AR
7:00 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
at
University of Arkansas
Ladyjacks Look to Play Spoiler Against No. 9 Arkansas
11/30/2023 8:52:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Stephen F. Austin vs. University of Arkansas
Date: Friday, December 1st
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: Barnhill Arena
Series: Arkansas leads 7-0
Fayetteville, AR. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Volleyball team travels to Arkansas for the NCAA Tournament after receiving the program's first ever NCAA Volleyball Tournament at-large bid and will square off against the third-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
The Stephen F. Austin women's volleyball team begins their quest for an NCAA Vollleyball Tournament championship against the No. 3 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. This NCAA appearance for the Ladyjacks marks the ninth time the Volleyball program has appeared in the NCAA Tournament and is the fourth time in the last six years they have played in the tournament. The Ladyjacks last game was against the GCU Lopes in the WAC Championship match where SFA lost a heartbreaking game 3-1 to the Lopes.
The Ladyjacks will be led into Arkansas by WAC Coach of the Year Debbie Humphreys who led the Ladyjacks to a 29-4 record on the season, a perfect 16-0 conference record, undefeated 14-0 record at home, and surpassed 800 wins this season, making her the 17th coach to ever achieve that remarkable feat, while being only one of two active coaches to win all 800 games with one institution. The Ladyjack offense will be led by WAC Player of the Year Ielan Bradley who finished the season leading the team in kills with 421, while finishing second on the team in blocks with 114. The backbone to this Ladyjack offense is the dynamic duo of setters in Jayden Flynn and Maddy Bourque who were the kick starters for this offense every game. Flynn led the team with 732 assists on the season and led the team in aces with 39, while Bourque showed her versatility all season by finishing second on the team in assists with 603 and recording 195 digs. Ariana Pagan and Camryn Hill stuffed the stat sheet every game for SFA as Pagan finished with 232 kills and 363 digs, while Hill finished with 253 kills and 346 digs. While the Ladyjack offense was a dominant force all season, the defense might have been just as impressive if not more impressive. Haley Hoang solidified the Libero spot all season long for the Ladyjacks as she led the team with 489 digs and finished second on the team in aces with 33. The 'Jacks were menaces at the net all season and were led by standout sophomore Izabella Ortiz, who recorded 149 blocks on the season good for 11th most in the nation. However, Ortiz was not the only Ladyjack to stuff hitters this season as the powerful freshman duo of Tanishua Joseph and Kyanna Creecy combined for 141 blocks on the season. In total, the 'Jacks finished the season at the top spot in the nation in Team Total Blocks with 328.
This season featured no shortage of awards and achievements presented to the Ladyjack players. Ielan Bradley in addition to winning WAC Player of the Year, claimed a spot on the All-WAC First Team, and was named WAC Player of the Week on four different occasions this season. Izabella joined Bradley on the All-WAC First Team while Haley Hoang earned a nomination to the All-WAC Second Team. The freshman duo of Tanishua Joseph and Kyanna Creecy both claimed spots on the All-WAC Freshman team after their dominant ends to the season. Maddy Bourque, Ariana Pagan, and Ielan Bradley all achieved some impressive personal accolades this season to cap off their strong seasons. Bourque surpassed 2,000 career assists to become just the 8th Ladyjack to achieve that milestone, while Pagan surpassed both the 1,000 career point mark as well as the 1,500 career dig mark, and Bradley recorded her 1,000th career kill.
Razorbacks at a Glance:
The hosts of the tournament Arkansas Razorbacks find themselves looking to defend their homecourt against the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks. In their final match of the regular season, Arkansas rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to the Auburn Tigers to claim a 3-2 win last Friday. In their match against Auburn, Arkansas led in kills (70-58), assists (68-51), digs (95-82) and points (80-70).
Arkansas is led offensively by the two-headed monster of Taylor Head and Jillian Gillen who both play both sides of the court at an extremely high level. Head finished the season with 442 kills and 349 digs, both good for second most on the team. Gillen finished the season with the team lead in kills with 461 while also surpassing the 300-dig mark on the season with 317, and led the team in aces with 48. Both Head and Gillen finished with over 500 total points on the season, and both finished the season top-50 in the nation in kills. Hannah Hogue was an assist machine for the Razorbacks this season as she led the team with an unbelievable 1,251 assists on the year, which was good for fourth most in the entire nation, and finished fifth in the nation in assists per set with 11.27. Hogue also finished second on the team in aces with 46, while also showcasing her defensive ability by finishing with 290 digs. Defensively, Courtney Jackson led the way for Arkansas as she finished with 441 digs to lead the team and was followed by Head and Gillen. Zoi Eavns was the only Razorback to finish with over 100 blocks as she led the team with 117 blocks on the season.
Taylor Head, Jillian Gillen, and Hannah Hogue all received well-deserved recognition at the conclusion of the regular season. All three players received All-SEC Honors while Head Coach Jason Watson was named Co-SEC Coach of the Year. During the season, Gillen surpassed the 2,000-kill career mark to become just the second Arkansas player ever to achieve this feat, became the all-time leader in aces in Razorback history, and currently sits at second in all-time program career kills. Head finds her name on the All-SEC honors list for the third time in her collegiate career as she recorded 19 double doubles this season and has 57 for her career, which is the second most of any Arkansas player in school history. Meanwhile, Hogue was named to the All-SEC Team for the first time in her career as she dished out assists at will this season, was named SEC Setter of the Week on five separate occasions this season, named SEC Player of the Week, and dished out a career-high 61 assists in their most recent win against Auburn. Head Coach Jason Watson was named SEC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row as he has helped lead Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years after the program had gone nine years without making the tournament.
Arkansas finished the season with a 25-5 overall record, a 15-3 conference record, and a 12-3 home record. Arkansas had a number of notable games throughout the season as they took No. 1 ranked Wisconsin to five sets in a hard fought 3-2 loss, defeated No. 12 Tennessee in four sets, and swept No. 19 Florida.
Series: This will be the eighth time these two schools will face off against each other as these two schools last saw each other in 2021. In their last match, Arkansas defeated SFA 3-0 at Shelton Gym in the second round of the NIVC tournament.
Date: Friday, December 1st
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Live Stream: ESPN+
Stadium: Barnhill Arena
Series: Arkansas leads 7-0
Fayetteville, AR. - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Volleyball team travels to Arkansas for the NCAA Tournament after receiving the program's first ever NCAA Volleyball Tournament at-large bid and will square off against the third-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
The Stephen F. Austin women's volleyball team begins their quest for an NCAA Vollleyball Tournament championship against the No. 3 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. This NCAA appearance for the Ladyjacks marks the ninth time the Volleyball program has appeared in the NCAA Tournament and is the fourth time in the last six years they have played in the tournament. The Ladyjacks last game was against the GCU Lopes in the WAC Championship match where SFA lost a heartbreaking game 3-1 to the Lopes.
The Ladyjacks will be led into Arkansas by WAC Coach of the Year Debbie Humphreys who led the Ladyjacks to a 29-4 record on the season, a perfect 16-0 conference record, undefeated 14-0 record at home, and surpassed 800 wins this season, making her the 17th coach to ever achieve that remarkable feat, while being only one of two active coaches to win all 800 games with one institution. The Ladyjack offense will be led by WAC Player of the Year Ielan Bradley who finished the season leading the team in kills with 421, while finishing second on the team in blocks with 114. The backbone to this Ladyjack offense is the dynamic duo of setters in Jayden Flynn and Maddy Bourque who were the kick starters for this offense every game. Flynn led the team with 732 assists on the season and led the team in aces with 39, while Bourque showed her versatility all season by finishing second on the team in assists with 603 and recording 195 digs. Ariana Pagan and Camryn Hill stuffed the stat sheet every game for SFA as Pagan finished with 232 kills and 363 digs, while Hill finished with 253 kills and 346 digs. While the Ladyjack offense was a dominant force all season, the defense might have been just as impressive if not more impressive. Haley Hoang solidified the Libero spot all season long for the Ladyjacks as she led the team with 489 digs and finished second on the team in aces with 33. The 'Jacks were menaces at the net all season and were led by standout sophomore Izabella Ortiz, who recorded 149 blocks on the season good for 11th most in the nation. However, Ortiz was not the only Ladyjack to stuff hitters this season as the powerful freshman duo of Tanishua Joseph and Kyanna Creecy combined for 141 blocks on the season. In total, the 'Jacks finished the season at the top spot in the nation in Team Total Blocks with 328.
This season featured no shortage of awards and achievements presented to the Ladyjack players. Ielan Bradley in addition to winning WAC Player of the Year, claimed a spot on the All-WAC First Team, and was named WAC Player of the Week on four different occasions this season. Izabella joined Bradley on the All-WAC First Team while Haley Hoang earned a nomination to the All-WAC Second Team. The freshman duo of Tanishua Joseph and Kyanna Creecy both claimed spots on the All-WAC Freshman team after their dominant ends to the season. Maddy Bourque, Ariana Pagan, and Ielan Bradley all achieved some impressive personal accolades this season to cap off their strong seasons. Bourque surpassed 2,000 career assists to become just the 8th Ladyjack to achieve that milestone, while Pagan surpassed both the 1,000 career point mark as well as the 1,500 career dig mark, and Bradley recorded her 1,000th career kill.
Razorbacks at a Glance:
The hosts of the tournament Arkansas Razorbacks find themselves looking to defend their homecourt against the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks. In their final match of the regular season, Arkansas rallied back from a 2-1 deficit to the Auburn Tigers to claim a 3-2 win last Friday. In their match against Auburn, Arkansas led in kills (70-58), assists (68-51), digs (95-82) and points (80-70).
Arkansas is led offensively by the two-headed monster of Taylor Head and Jillian Gillen who both play both sides of the court at an extremely high level. Head finished the season with 442 kills and 349 digs, both good for second most on the team. Gillen finished the season with the team lead in kills with 461 while also surpassing the 300-dig mark on the season with 317, and led the team in aces with 48. Both Head and Gillen finished with over 500 total points on the season, and both finished the season top-50 in the nation in kills. Hannah Hogue was an assist machine for the Razorbacks this season as she led the team with an unbelievable 1,251 assists on the year, which was good for fourth most in the entire nation, and finished fifth in the nation in assists per set with 11.27. Hogue also finished second on the team in aces with 46, while also showcasing her defensive ability by finishing with 290 digs. Defensively, Courtney Jackson led the way for Arkansas as she finished with 441 digs to lead the team and was followed by Head and Gillen. Zoi Eavns was the only Razorback to finish with over 100 blocks as she led the team with 117 blocks on the season.
Taylor Head, Jillian Gillen, and Hannah Hogue all received well-deserved recognition at the conclusion of the regular season. All three players received All-SEC Honors while Head Coach Jason Watson was named Co-SEC Coach of the Year. During the season, Gillen surpassed the 2,000-kill career mark to become just the second Arkansas player ever to achieve this feat, became the all-time leader in aces in Razorback history, and currently sits at second in all-time program career kills. Head finds her name on the All-SEC honors list for the third time in her collegiate career as she recorded 19 double doubles this season and has 57 for her career, which is the second most of any Arkansas player in school history. Meanwhile, Hogue was named to the All-SEC Team for the first time in her career as she dished out assists at will this season, was named SEC Setter of the Week on five separate occasions this season, named SEC Player of the Week, and dished out a career-high 61 assists in their most recent win against Auburn. Head Coach Jason Watson was named SEC Coach of the Year for the second year in a row as he has helped lead Arkansas to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years after the program had gone nine years without making the tournament.
Arkansas finished the season with a 25-5 overall record, a 15-3 conference record, and a 12-3 home record. Arkansas had a number of notable games throughout the season as they took No. 1 ranked Wisconsin to five sets in a hard fought 3-2 loss, defeated No. 12 Tennessee in four sets, and swept No. 19 Florida.
Series: This will be the eighth time these two schools will face off against each other as these two schools last saw each other in 2021. In their last match, Arkansas defeated SFA 3-0 at Shelton Gym in the second round of the NIVC tournament.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball
RS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball11.7.23 | Axe 'Em Insider Ep. 19 x Volleyball
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Friday, November 03
10.16.23 | Volleyball x Coach Debbie Humphreys Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, October 17
10.2.23 | Volleyball Weekly Presser
Monday, October 02
