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Southern Arkansas (5-12, 2-3 GAC) at SWOSU (5-7, 3-2 GAC) Friday, October 3, 6:00 pm Arkansas-Monticello (6-6, 2-3 GAC) at SWOSU (5-7, 3-2 GAC) Saturday, October 4, 10 am Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- After playing five consecutive matches away from home, the SWOSU Volleyball team returns home to the Pioneer Cellular Event Center for nine home matches during the month of October
- SWOSU will host Southern Arkansas on Friday evening and Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday morning on their new home court
- The Bulldogs will wear their new alternate Pink uniforms for the entire month of October in support of Breast Cancer and Ovarian Cancer
- SWOSU swept the road trip against SAU and UAM last season but split against the duo (def. UAM, lost to SAU) the last time they visited Weatherford in 2012
- The Bulldogs have alternated wins and losses in their last six matches after winning three straight, including both of their previous matches at home
- SWOSU is 2-0 at home on the year and they have 12 home matches remaining to be played at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
 
The Opponents
Southern Arkansas
- Improved to 5-12 on the year and riding a two-game winning streak after defeating Lyon College on Tuesday night
- Have won four of their last five overall, including conference matches against East Central and Arkansas-Monticello
- One game behind SWOSU in the GAC standings at 2-3
- 0-4 in true road games and 1-6 at neutral sites this year
- Led by OH Amanda Monge, the reigning GAC Offensive Player of the Week, who already has 200 kills for the year and is hitting .294
- Setter Taylor Reaume is reigning GAC Setter of the Week and OH Alli O'Banion was the Defensive Player of the Week last week
 
Arkansas-Monticello
- Have won five of their last seven matches to even their record at 6-6 for the season
- Defeated NCAA Division I foe Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday in four sets
- Split a pair of conference matches last weekend, defeating East Central in four sets before falling to Southeastern Oklahoma State in five
- One game behind SWOSU in the GAC standings at 2-3
- Have a record of 4-4 away from home this year, including a 2-2 mark in true road games
- Holding opponents to a .120 hitting percentage, the best mark in the conference
- Led by MH Tasha Evans and OH Sydni Schulz, who both have more than 85 kills for the year
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (31-48, 3rd season)
- Named second head volleyball coach in SWOSU history on January 1, 2012
- Enters his third season with a 26-41 record with back-to-back 13-win seasons
- Has coached five All-GAC selections and one GAC Freshman of the Year
- SWOSU has finished fourth in the GAC in each of his seasons
 
Southern Arkansas: Steven Gream (82-67, 5th season)
- Finished with a winning record in all four seasons while at Southern Arkansas
- Best season was 2012, when the Muleriders finished 23-12 and placed second in the GAC
- Spent seven seasons coaching at his alma mater, Union University (Tenn.), before taking over at Southern Arkansas
 
Arkansas-Monticello: Peter Cruz (29-50, 3rd season)
- Third coach in the 10-year history of volleyball at Arkansas-Monticello
- Brought five years of experience to UAM, including NCAA Division I national tournament appearance at American University
- Increased UAM's win total by one from his first season to the second
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU went 1-2 last week in road conference matches, falling at Southern Nazarene and Ouachita Baptist while defeating Henderson State
- Joey Collins led the Dawgs with 10 kills against SNU while Carly Zak had 8
- Kaila Lancaster set a school record with 29 digs in a three-set match against Henderson State
- Collins led SWOSU with 17 kills, including eight in the deciding third set at HSU
- Brandy Mader had consecutive double-doubles in assists and digs at OBU and HSU
- Kiley Brennfoerder sent back nine attack attempts against OBU, tying the third-most in a match in school history
- SWOSU and OBU played to a fifth set for the third time in the past two seasons
 
Checking the Standings
- With two conference defeats last week, the Bulldogs have fallen into a tie for sixth in the standings with Ouachita Baptist
- Both opponents this week, Southern Arkansas & Arkansas-Monticello, are one game behind the Bulldogs at 2-3
- All five teams ahead of SWOSU have only suffered one conference defeat on the year
- Arkansas Tech is atop the standings at 4-1 with Southern Nazarene, Harding and Northwestern Oklahoma State one-half game behind at 3-1
 
SWOSU Notes
- Joey Collins surpassed the 800-kill milestone for her career against Ouachita Baptist. She has put down 806 kills for her career, ranking second in SWOSU history behind Kasandra Gurtner (1,036, 2005-07)
- Kaila Lancaster also reached a milestone over the weekend, recording her 1,000th career dig against OBU. She has 1,014 for her carrer, needing 20 to move into third past Amanda Ortega (1,033, 2005-07)
- Kiley Brennfoerder became just the third player in program history with more than 200 blocks last week. She has 213 career blocks, needing 24 more to surpass former teammate Alison Cole (236, 2012-13) for second place on the list
- Carly Zak ranks seventh in the GAC with 133 kills (3.02/set) and she now has 529 for her career, ranking her ninth all-time at SWOSU
- Brandy Mader was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Midwestern State Hampton Inn-vitational in Week 1
- Mader ranks ninth in the GAC in assists with 372 (8.45/set) and she's third on the team with 28 blocks (5 solo, 23 assist)
-Taylor VanderWerff had a strong week at the net, sending back four attempts against SNU and HSU and three at OBU. She now has 29 (4 solo, 24 assist) for the year, ranking second on the team
- Shayne Haley ranks third on the team with 82 kills and she had her first double-double at SWOSU with 10 kills and a career-high 20 digs at Ouachita Baptist
- Kenya Williams ranks 10th in the GAC with 15 service aces and she has moved into ninth on SWOSU's career list in the category with 56. With four more aces, she can move into sixth in the category
 
Looking Ahead
- The homestand continues next week as the Bulldogs host Northwestern Okla. on Tuesday