Match Notes - Arkansas-Little Rock - Western Kentucky (.pdf)
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's volleyball team will open up Sun Belt Conference action this weekend as the Jaguars host Arkansas-Little Rock and Western Kentucky at Jag Gym. USA will take on the Trojans on Friday night with first serve set for 7 p.m., and then face the Lady Toppers on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Hendrichovsky is looking forward to opening the conference season at home and hopes the home crowd will provide and advantage against the two league opponents.
"Anytime that we can play at home in conference is an advantage," South Alabama head coach Amy Hendrichovsky said. "This year, we actually get to play each team in the league both home and away, which is very different from how it's been, so we have equal opportunity with each team. We open up this weekend with Arkansas-Little Rock who returns the preseason player of the year and last year's player of the year. They have also made some good additions to their team and they are on a six-match win streak right now and have been doing pretty well. I think they'll come in here ready to compete against us, just as much as we're going to be ready to compete against them.
"Western Kentucky is the defending conference champion and returns quite a bit from that team and they're going to be looking to repeat that. I believe for us, we're looking to get to that level. Again, two teams that will probably be at the top of our conference that we need to compete against this weekend."
Fans are also invited to attend a pregame tailgate party prior to the start of the match versus UALR. The event will run from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in front of the Academic Support Center on Jaguar Drive. Saturday night's match versus WKU is "Ice Cream for the Jags" night. The first 150 fans will receive free ice cream cups.
Live stats and video will be available for both matches at www.USAJaguars.com.
The Jaguars return to action this weekend after not having played since Sept. 17 at Jackson State. USA defeated the Tigers 3-0 in the match winning 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 at T.B. Ellis Gymnasium. South Alabama was to have competed at the Razorback Invitational this past weekend where they would have faced Saint Louis, Arkansas and Kansas State, but due to widespread injury and illness throughout the team, the Jaguars were forced to withdraw from the tourney.
The Jaguar head coach is looking for the team to continue to battle through the recent adversity and hopefully come out a stronger team.
"(This season) We've just been talking about fighting," Hendrichovsky said. "We've had some adversity over the course of the last few weeks. We're just continuing to do what we can with the lineup we're putting out and our girls have stepped up to the challenge and we need to fight. As we gain more players back, we'll get stronger as a team."
South Alabama does enter conference play this weekend with a 5-5 record this season, and has won three of its last four matches.
Jaguar freshman Mechell Daniel continues her strong play as of later. The 6-3 outside/opposite side hitter has posted 17 or more kills in each of her last four matches. Versus Jackson State, Daniel set a new career-high with her 20-kill effort. She also had eight digs and hit .471 against the Tigers. Daniel currently ranks among the conference leaders in kills, points and service aces. Daniel's 3.36 kills per set average ranks fifth in the Sun Belt, while she is tied for second in aces (0.39) and fourth in points (3.97). She is also hitting .241 this season.
Sophomore middle blocker Nikki Gittens is averaging 2.11 kps, and freshman middle blocker Symone Stephenson is just under two kills per set at 1.92. Both Stephenson and Gittens have been solid hitting the ball as the duo comes into action this weekend with a .303 and .295 attack percentage, which ranks ninth and 10th, respectively, in the SBC.
Stephenson has also been the defensive leader at the net as she leads the team with 27 total blocks. She is averaging 0.75 per set.
Arkansas-Little Rock (8-4, 0-0 SBC) comes into conference action this week as one of the hottest teams in the league, winners of seven of its last eight, including six straight. The Trojans dropped three of their first four to start the 2013 season, but have won both the both the New Mexico State tournament and the Tiger Invitational each of the last two weekends.
UALR and USA do have one common opponent this season, as both have defeated Southern Utah. The Trojans picked up a five-set win over the Thunderbirds two weeks ago, while the Jags swept SUU in Mobile during the opening weekend of the season.
The Trojans are led offensively by the duo of Edina Begic and Sonja Milanovic. Begic - the conference's preseason player of the year - leads the Sun Belt in kills (5.28) and points (5.96) while also ranking sixth in hitting (.311) and seventh in aces (0.30). Begic - who has been named the league's player of the week each of the last three weeks - also ranks among the national leaders in points and kills, second and third, respectively.
Milanovic has been just as solid for UALR in her first season in Little Rock. The sophomore outside hitter is averaging 3.64 kills - second in the SBC. She also is second in points (4.15) and 10th in aces (0.28).
As a team, UALR leads the conference in kills with 13.77 and assists 13.21 and is second in hitting with a .267 percentage. Marleen de Zoete is averaging a league-best 11.32 assists per set - 11th in the latest NCAA rankings.
Arkansas-Little Rock also ranks second in the SBC in blocks with 2.12 per set. Individually at the net, 6-2 middle blocker Carolee Dillard is second in the conference with 1.13 bps, while Adisa Hodzic is sixth with 1.02 bps.
Like UALR, Western Kentucky (10-4, 0-0 SBC) also enters the first conference weekend playing well as the Lady Toppers have won five of their last six. This past weekend, WKU captured a pair of 3-1 wins over Dayton and Western Michigan and a 3-0 win over Wright State at the Flyer Classic. WKU will face Troy on Friday night, before traveling to Mobile.
On Saturday, Topper head coach Travis Hudson captured his 450th win and now holds a career record of 450-184 (.710) in his 19 seasons at WKU. During his time in Bowling Green, Hudson has led Western Kentucky to nine Sun Belt East Division titles, and has appeared in 10 of 12 SBC Tournament Championships matches. Last season, WKU clinched the East Division title after finishing the regular season with a 15-0 record, dropping just one set in league play. The Lady Toppers went on to sweep the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and earn the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the program's seventh trip to the postseason.
The Toppers have played a difficult schedule this season as they have faced four teams ranked in the Top 25. WKU is receiving votes in the latest AVCA national poll, sitting two spots outside the Top 25.
WKU has used a balanced offensive attack this season as four players are averaging 2.41 kills or better this season. Senior outside hitter Paige Wessel leads the attack for the Lady Toppers as she is averaging 2.69 kills per set and her .451 hitting percentage is the best amongst all players in the Sun Belt.
Along with Wessel, Noelle Langenkamp (2.64), Heather Boyan (2.58) and Haley Bodway (2.41) are also threats on the offensive side of the net. Langenkamp (.380) and Boyan (.349) have done their work very efficiently as the duo also ranks among the league leaders in hitting, ranking second and fourth, respectively, in the Sun Belt in that category. As a team, WKU leads the league and ranks 30th in the NCAA in hitting with a .298 percentage. The Toppers are also second in the SBC in kills (13.22) and assists (12.37). Senior setter Melanie Stutsman has been named the conference setter of the week three times this season, including the past two weeks.
Defensively, Boyan has been outstanding defending the net. The junior middle blocker ranks second in the Sun Belt in blocks with 1.11 per set. As a team, WKU is fourth in the league in that same category. Ashley Potts - the Sun Belt's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year - is second in the conference in digs with 4.45.
Potts, Boyan, Wessel and Stutsman each earned preseason all-conference accolades.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
NOTES: USA is 7-16 in Sun Belt openers, having won its last three, and 4-17 in league home-openers. The meeting between UALR and South Alabama this weekend will mark the 27th in the all-time series between the two clubs. UALR holds a 23-3 advantage in the series. Coming into Friday night's match versus the Jags, the Trojans have taken 23 of the previous 25 meetings, including last season's 3-1 victory in Little Rock. USA is 1-12 in the series in matches played in Mobile. The meeting this weekend will mark the 48th between Western Kentucky and South Alabama. WKU holds a 38-9 lead all-time series. Dating back to 1989, USA has dropped 35 of the previous 36 meetings, including the last 26 - all but one of those in straight sets. The last time the Jaguars took a set off WKU was a 3-2 loss in Mobile back during the 1999 season. South Alabama's last win versus the Lady Toppers came back during the 1995 season when USA captured a 3-1 victory in Mobile. USA is 4-15 all-time in the series in Mobile, having lost 13-straight home matches to the Toppers.
—USA—
