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Southeastern Oklahoma State (11-8, 5-2 GAC) at SWOSU (5-10, 3-5 GAC) Tuesday, October 14, 7:00 pm Arkansas Tech (16-5, 8-1 GAC) at SWOSU (5-10, 3-5 GAC) Friday, October 17, 7:00 pm Weatherford, Okla. (Pioneer Cellular Event Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Volleyball's home stand continues this week as the Bulldogs host two more matches at their new home - the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The Bulldogs will welcome in Southeastern Oklahoma State on Tuesday as they look for the season sweep of the Savage Storm
- SWOSU defeated Southeastern 3-2 on September 9 for their first win of the season
- This weekend brings current GAC leader Arkansas Tech to town for a 7 pm match on Friday evening
- ATU holds a 9-1 all-time advantage over the Bulldogs, but their lone defeat came in 2012 on their last visit to Weatherford
- SWOSU will play nine of their ten matches during the month of October at home and they are debuting new pink jerseys all month in support of breast cancer
- The team is also sporting teal headbands throughout the month in support of ovarian cancer
- Visit the volleyball page on swosuathletics.com for more information about making a donation to the Bulldogs campaign for the Sideout Foundation and Ovarian Cancer National Alliance
 
The Opponents
Southeastern Oklahoma State
- Improved to 11-8 with wins in six of their last seven matches, including victories over top GAC foes Harding and Southern Nazarene
- Have a record of 5-2 in GAC play, with their lone losses to SWOSU and GAC-leading Arkansas Tech
- Enter the week on a three-match winning streak
- Rank third in the GAC in hitting percentage as one of three teams hitting above .200 for the season (.212)
- MH Julia Benford leads the team and ranks second in the conference with a .337 hitting percentage while OH's Megan Kunkel and Emily Gentle both have over 200 kills on the year
 
Arkansas Tech
- Currently atop the Great American Conference standings with a 16-5 record, including an 8-1 mark in conference matches
- Enter the week riding an eight-match winning streak following their lone conference setback, a five-set defeat against Southern Nazarene
- GAC's top offensive team, leading the league in kills, hitting percentage, assists and service aces
- Have a trio of offensive threats (Emily Todd, Kaylee Konsella & Katie Huff) with more than 200 kills on the year and all are hitting above .220
- Setter Sierra Nighswonger is a two-time GAC Setter of the Week this year, ranking third in the conference in assists with 9.86 per set
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (31-51, 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
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State: Brianna Barry (11-8, 1st season)
- Served as the interim coach at Southeastern when her former boss Jenn King accepted the head
coach position at Nova Southeastern
- Joined Southeastern as a graduate assistant prior to the 2013 season
- Played three years professionally in Switzerland following a four-year career as a starter at Florida
State
 
Arkansas Tech: Kristy Bayer (269-112, 11th season)
- All-time winningest coach in Arkansas Tech volleyball history
- Two-time conference coach of the year, including the inaugural GAC Coach of the Year in 2011
- Led the Golden Suns to the NCAA II Tournament last season for the third time in program history
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU won the first set in rivalry action against Northwestern Oklahoma State before falling to the Rangers 3-1 in the match
- Carly Zak led the Dawgs with 15 kills while Shayne Haley had 13, including six in the fourth set
- Brandy Mader (24 assists, 21 digs) and Alyssa Olson (16 assist, 11 digs) both recorded double-doubles
- Kenya Williams set a new career high with 23 digs
- Fourth straight defeat for the Bulldogs, matching their longest winless streak of the season
 
Checking the Standings
- On the heels of the four-match losing skid, the Bulldogs have fallen into a tie for eighth in the GAC standings with Ouachita Baptist
- Both opponents this week are near the top of the standings with Arkansas Tech alone in first and Southeastern Oklahoma State in fourth, one-half game out of second
- Three teams (NWOSU, Harding, Southeastern) have just two conference losses, leaving them within one game of Arkansas Tech for the lead
- 2014 will be the first year that the GAC Volleyball champion is not undefeated in conference play
 
SWOSU Notes
- Kenya Williams served up three aces against Northwestern, moving herself into sixth all-time at SWOSU in the category with 60
- Joey Collins enters the week ranked second in career attack attempts at SWOSU, needing 58 to surpass Kasandra Gurtner (2,876, 2005-07) for the all-time lead. Collins career high for attack attempts is 66, set last season against Ouachita Baptist in the GAC tournament
- Kaila Lancaster is ranked fifth in the GAC in digs with 262 (4.60/set). Her current average would rank her third in SWOSU history for a single season
- Carly Zak moved up to seventh in the GAC in kills with 174 (3.05/set). Zak ranks ninth in career kills at SWOSU with 570, needing 32 to surpass Paula Harry (601, 2005-07) for eighth
- SWOSU ranks third in the GAC in blocks with 110 (1.93/set), in large part due to the contributions from Kiley Brennfoerder
- Brennfoerder ranks fourth in the GAC with 57 total blocks and she's one of just four players in the conference averaging more than 1.0 blocks per set
- For her career, Brennfoerder now has 227 total blocks, needing 10  more to eclipse former teammate Alison Cole (236, 2012-13) and move into second place all-time at SWOSU
- Shayne Haley set new career highs with 13 kills and 43 attack attempts against Northwestern last Tuesday. She now has 109 kills on the year, becoming the third Bulldog to hit the 100-kill plateau this season
- Alyssa Olson has recorded the first two double-doubles of her SWOSU career in the past two matches
- Olson became the fifth SWOSU player to record a double-double this season, joining Collins, Haley, Mader and Zak
- Taylor VanderWerff ranks second on the team with 35 blocks and fifth in kills with 59
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs will be busy, playing four matches next week
- SWOSU is at East Central on Tuesday before a trio of home matches later in the week