Friday, August 30
Huntsville, TX
12:00 p.m.
Stephen F. Austin
vs
University of the Incarnate Word
Ladyjacks Kick-Off 2024 Season at Sam Houston Tournament
8/29/2024 6:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
HUNTSVILLE, Texas- The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks Volleyball team begins a new but familiar era in 2024 as they return to the Southland after three years in the WAC by opening their season with a three-game tournament hosted by the Sam Houston Bearkats where the 'Jacks will square off with University of the Incarnate Word, Prairie View A&M, and the Bearkats.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
SFA will begin their much-anticipated season as they re-enter a familiar era by making a triumphant return to the Southland Conference following a three-year stint in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). During their time in the WAC, Head Coach Debbie Humphreys led SFA to one WAC Conference Championship and was named WAC Coach of the Year in 2023. Head Coach Humphreys guides SFA back to the Southland where she led SFA to 12 Southland Conference Regular Season Championships and was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year on eight separate occasions, and has led SFA to nine NCAA Tournament appearances over her 35-year coaching career with the Ladyjacks. Even more impressively, "DHump" has recorded 20+ wins in 26 of her 35 years as a head coach and is only one of four active Division I coaches to win over 800 games, and one of only two active coaches to achieve that milestone with one institution.
The Ladyjacks roster features a new look this season as they will carry over a younger roster from last season to this season as there will be nine freshmen and three sophomores on the team this season. However, the returning starters for SFA will provide valuable leadership as they feature no shortage of valuable experience and production as they help lead SFA back to the Southland.
The returning effective and efficient sophomore duo of Tanishua Joseph and Kyanna Creecy will look to carry over their production from highly successful freshman seasons that saw the two combine for over 400 points and 140 blocks. Meanwhile, the dynamic Camryn Hill will continue to be a valuable offensive presence for SFA as she comes off a year that saw her record 316 points and 259 kills for the 'Jacks. Superb setter Jayden Flynn will continue to be the kickstarter for the Ladyjack offense as Flynn returns for her junior season which saw her compile an impressive 746 assists last season to lead all Ladyjacks. Two-way star Izabella Ortiz is coming off a record-setting year that saw her record 151 blocks on defense for SFA, which ranked her sixth in the nation in that category, while being just as potent offensively as she totaled 268 kills and 372 points both of which ranked second on the team last season.
Stephen F. Austin vs. University of the Incarnate Word
Date/Time: Friday, August 30th at 12:00 p.m. CST
Live Stream:
Stadium: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Series: SFA leads 10-2
Cardinals at a Glance:
The UIW Cardinals enter the 2024 season off the heels of a record-breaking 2023 season that saw the Cardinals amass 15 wins to mark the most wins in program history, which was good enough to secure the Cardinals spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Cardinals are led by Head Coach Gabryel Ording who is in her second season leading the Cardinals program.
The Cardinals roster features no shortage of experience this season as they have nine returners for the 2024 season, four of which will be seniors. Natali Kimmel led the Cardinals in assists with 698 last season while pitching in 48 service aces. Meanwhile, Risa Sena finished with 279 kills last season good for second most on the team to go along with 55 blocks, and Audrey Patton tallied 232 digs and 27 assists last season.
Friday afternoon's game will mark the 13th all-time meeting between these two Southland opponents with SFA holding a 10-2 all-time record over the Cardinals. The Ladyjacks have won seven in a row against the Cardinals, including five consecutive sweeps with the most recent meeting seeing SFA claim a 3-0 sweep over UIW in 2021.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Prairie View A&M-University
Dates/Times: Friday, August 30th at 4:00 p.m. CST
Live Stream:
Stadium: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Series: SFA Leads 3-0
Lady Panthers at a Glance:
The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers enter this weekend's tournament coming off a historic 2023 season of their own as they posted their most regular season wins (19) since 2006 as well as boasting an impressive 13-3 conference record which marked the most SWAC wins for the Lady Panthers since 2006. PVAMU enters 2024 on the heels of consecutive 20+ win seasons and received two first-place votes in the preseason SWAC rankings.
Prairie View is led by setter Leah Lawson who was selected to the All-SWAC First Team following a season that saw her named SWAC Setter twice, while leading the conference in assists with 952 and averaged a conference-leading 8.81 assists/set. Kylee Owens formed a nice compliment to Lawson last season as she led the team in kills with 361 and ranked second in the conference with a 3.37 kill percentage. Meanwhile, Janyah Henderson will look to build off a superb freshman season that saw her claim Freshman of the Year Honors for the SWAC as she led the conference in hitting percentage with a .383 clip and totaled 78 blocks defensively. The Lady Panthers are led by Head Coach Cheri Lindsay who enters her second season at the helm of the PVAMU Volleyball program looking to build off a historic season just one year ago.
Friday afternoon's game will feature the fourth all-time meeting between these two teams with SFA winning the first three meetings over PVAMU. All three wins for the Ladyjacks have come by way of sweep with the most recent win seeing SFA claim a 3-0 sweep over the Lady Panthers in 2021.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Sam Houston State
Dates/Times: Saturday, August 31st at 3:30 p.m. CST
Live Stream:
Stadium: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Series: SFA Leads 41-40
Bearkats at a Glance
The host Sam Houston Bearkats enter the 2024 season coming off their first season in a new conference in Conference-USA as they enter their second season in C-USA. The Bearkats are led by Head Coach Brenda Gray who enters her 41st season leading the Bearkats Volleyball program in which she has amassed 763 career wins with Sam Houston including over 340 conference wins.
McKenzie Morvant returns for her senior season with Sam Houston coming off a season that saw her contribute on both ends of the court for Sam Houston as she led the team in points with 324, kills with 263, and averaged a healthy 2.63 kills/set, while also leading the team in blocks with 99. Avery Fowler will continue to form a dynamic duo offensively with Morvant this season as she is coming off a sophomore season that saw her tally 663 assists, which easily led all 'Kats players last season and totaled 25 service aces. Michaela Panekova looks to build off a successful freshman season as she finished second on the team in blocks with 51 last season and tallied 120 points offensively.
This storied rivalry continues into another season as Saturday afternoon will mark the 82nd all-time meeting between the two storied programs. SFA holds a slight 41-40 all-time lead over Sam Houston and has won the previous two matchups between the two schools. In their most recent meeting last season, the Ladyjacks completed a clean sweep of the Bearkats on the banner drop night to celebrate Head Coach Humphreys historic 800 career win mark.
Ladyjacks at a Glance:
SFA will begin their much-anticipated season as they re-enter a familiar era by making a triumphant return to the Southland Conference following a three-year stint in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). During their time in the WAC, Head Coach Debbie Humphreys led SFA to one WAC Conference Championship and was named WAC Coach of the Year in 2023. Head Coach Humphreys guides SFA back to the Southland where she led SFA to 12 Southland Conference Regular Season Championships and was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year on eight separate occasions, and has led SFA to nine NCAA Tournament appearances over her 35-year coaching career with the Ladyjacks. Even more impressively, "DHump" has recorded 20+ wins in 26 of her 35 years as a head coach and is only one of four active Division I coaches to win over 800 games, and one of only two active coaches to achieve that milestone with one institution.
The Ladyjacks roster features a new look this season as they will carry over a younger roster from last season to this season as there will be nine freshmen and three sophomores on the team this season. However, the returning starters for SFA will provide valuable leadership as they feature no shortage of valuable experience and production as they help lead SFA back to the Southland.
The returning effective and efficient sophomore duo of Tanishua Joseph and Kyanna Creecy will look to carry over their production from highly successful freshman seasons that saw the two combine for over 400 points and 140 blocks. Meanwhile, the dynamic Camryn Hill will continue to be a valuable offensive presence for SFA as she comes off a year that saw her record 316 points and 259 kills for the 'Jacks. Superb setter Jayden Flynn will continue to be the kickstarter for the Ladyjack offense as Flynn returns for her junior season which saw her compile an impressive 746 assists last season to lead all Ladyjacks. Two-way star Izabella Ortiz is coming off a record-setting year that saw her record 151 blocks on defense for SFA, which ranked her sixth in the nation in that category, while being just as potent offensively as she totaled 268 kills and 372 points both of which ranked second on the team last season.
Stephen F. Austin vs. University of the Incarnate Word
Date/Time: Friday, August 30th at 12:00 p.m. CST
Live Stream:
Stadium: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Series: SFA leads 10-2
Cardinals at a Glance:
The UIW Cardinals enter the 2024 season off the heels of a record-breaking 2023 season that saw the Cardinals amass 15 wins to mark the most wins in program history, which was good enough to secure the Cardinals spot in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Cardinals are led by Head Coach Gabryel Ording who is in her second season leading the Cardinals program.
The Cardinals roster features no shortage of experience this season as they have nine returners for the 2024 season, four of which will be seniors. Natali Kimmel led the Cardinals in assists with 698 last season while pitching in 48 service aces. Meanwhile, Risa Sena finished with 279 kills last season good for second most on the team to go along with 55 blocks, and Audrey Patton tallied 232 digs and 27 assists last season.
Friday afternoon's game will mark the 13th all-time meeting between these two Southland opponents with SFA holding a 10-2 all-time record over the Cardinals. The Ladyjacks have won seven in a row against the Cardinals, including five consecutive sweeps with the most recent meeting seeing SFA claim a 3-0 sweep over UIW in 2021.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Prairie View A&M-University
Dates/Times: Friday, August 30th at 4:00 p.m. CST
Live Stream:
Stadium: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Series: SFA Leads 3-0
Lady Panthers at a Glance:
The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers enter this weekend's tournament coming off a historic 2023 season of their own as they posted their most regular season wins (19) since 2006 as well as boasting an impressive 13-3 conference record which marked the most SWAC wins for the Lady Panthers since 2006. PVAMU enters 2024 on the heels of consecutive 20+ win seasons and received two first-place votes in the preseason SWAC rankings.
Prairie View is led by setter Leah Lawson who was selected to the All-SWAC First Team following a season that saw her named SWAC Setter twice, while leading the conference in assists with 952 and averaged a conference-leading 8.81 assists/set. Kylee Owens formed a nice compliment to Lawson last season as she led the team in kills with 361 and ranked second in the conference with a 3.37 kill percentage. Meanwhile, Janyah Henderson will look to build off a superb freshman season that saw her claim Freshman of the Year Honors for the SWAC as she led the conference in hitting percentage with a .383 clip and totaled 78 blocks defensively. The Lady Panthers are led by Head Coach Cheri Lindsay who enters her second season at the helm of the PVAMU Volleyball program looking to build off a historic season just one year ago.
Friday afternoon's game will feature the fourth all-time meeting between these two teams with SFA winning the first three meetings over PVAMU. All three wins for the Ladyjacks have come by way of sweep with the most recent win seeing SFA claim a 3-0 sweep over the Lady Panthers in 2021.
Stephen F. Austin vs. Sam Houston State
Dates/Times: Saturday, August 31st at 3:30 p.m. CST
Live Stream:
Stadium: Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum
Series: SFA Leads 41-40
Bearkats at a Glance
The host Sam Houston Bearkats enter the 2024 season coming off their first season in a new conference in Conference-USA as they enter their second season in C-USA. The Bearkats are led by Head Coach Brenda Gray who enters her 41st season leading the Bearkats Volleyball program in which she has amassed 763 career wins with Sam Houston including over 340 conference wins.
McKenzie Morvant returns for her senior season with Sam Houston coming off a season that saw her contribute on both ends of the court for Sam Houston as she led the team in points with 324, kills with 263, and averaged a healthy 2.63 kills/set, while also leading the team in blocks with 99. Avery Fowler will continue to form a dynamic duo offensively with Morvant this season as she is coming off a sophomore season that saw her tally 663 assists, which easily led all 'Kats players last season and totaled 25 service aces. Michaela Panekova looks to build off a successful freshman season as she finished second on the team in blocks with 51 last season and tallied 120 points offensively.
This storied rivalry continues into another season as Saturday afternoon will mark the 82nd all-time meeting between the two storied programs. SFA holds a slight 41-40 all-time lead over Sam Houston and has won the previous two matchups between the two schools. In their most recent meeting last season, the Ladyjacks completed a clean sweep of the Bearkats on the banner drop night to celebrate Head Coach Humphreys historic 800 career win mark.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Volleyball11.7.23 | Axe 'Em Insider Ep. 19 x Volleyball
Wednesday, November 08
11.2.23 | Volleyball x Highlights Vs. SU
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
