---

SWOSU (6-11, 4-6 GAC) at East Central (4-20, 1-10 GAC) Tuesday, October 21, 7:00 pm Ada, Okla. (Kerr Activities Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live ($) Southern Nazarene (14-7, 7-3 GAC) at SWOSU Thursday, October 23, 7:00 pm Oklahoma Baptist (19-7) at SWOSU Saturday, October 25, 12:00 pm West Texas A&M (20-3) at SWOSU Saturday, October 25, 7:00 pm Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- The near month-long home stand for SWOSU Volleyball breaks on Tuesday when they head to Ada for their only road match in the month of October. SWOSU is 0-4 all-time against ECU in Ada
- SWOSU then returns home later in the week for a trio of matches, starting with Southern Nazarene on Thursday night
- The SNU match will be the annual tailgate match, with Residence Life and the Athletic Association teaming up to provide a great atmosphere at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center
- The Bulldogs then host Oklahoma Baptist and West Texas A&M on Saturday for a triangular match on their home court
- SWOSU Volleyball is supporting Dig Pink throughout the month, 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
East Central
- Snapped a nine-match losing skid and earned their first conference win on Saturday with a 3-0 victory at Henderson State
- Other victories have come against Texas A&M-International, St. Gregory's and Bacone
- Led by OH Sarah Simpson, who has 222 kills and Madyson Gill with 195
 
Southern Nazarene
- Tied for third in the GAC standings at 7-3 following a 3-1 victory over Southern Arkansas last weekend in Magnolia
- MH Taylor Jacobs is a two-time GAC Player of the Week and currently leads the conference with 269 kills on the year
- Lead the GAC in blocks as a team with 183.5 (2.38/set)
 
Oklahoma Baptist
- In their final season as a member of NAIA before beginning the transition to NCAA Division II as a member of the Great American Conference.
- Currently ranked 20th in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll with a 19-7 overall record, including a three-set win over Southern Nazarene
- Led by OH Priscilla Mendes with 234 kills and three-time SAC Setter of the Week Ezgi Guney
 
West Texas A&M
- Former Lone Star Conference foe of the Bulldogs that currently leads the LSC with an unblemished 11-0 conference mark
- Entered the latest AVCA Top 25 poll at No. 25 as they are currently on a 12-match winning streak
- Led offensively by Lauren Bevan (315 kills) and Kameryn Hayes (207), who also leads the team with 575 assists and has been named LSC Setter of the Week three times this year
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (32-52, 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
 
East Central: Dave Thorn (70-150, 7th season)
- Only head coach in ECU history, guiding the Tigers since their inception in 2008
- Has guided the Tigers to two 14-win seasons
- Previously spent seven seasons as the head coach at UT-Pan American
 
Southern Nazarene: Kevin Ingram (301-217, 14th season)
- In his 14th season as the head coach at SNU after five previous seasons as an assistant
- Has led the Storm to nine 20-win seasons, including a 27-12 mark last season
- Only suffered three losing seasons as the head coach at SNU
 
Oklahoma Baptist: Anna Howie (199-67, 7th season)
- Has led the Lady Bison to four consecutive conference titles
- Three-time SAC Coach of the Year
- Honored as "Thirty Under 30" by the AVCA
 
West Texas A&M: Jason Skoch (188-28, 6th season)
- Has won at least 27 games in every season at WT, with four 30-win seasons to his credit
- Named LSC and Central Region Coach of the Year in 2013 after the Lady Buffs advanced to the National Semifinals
- Previously spent four years as the head coach at Truman State
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU went 1-1 last week, completing the season-sweep of Southeastern with a 3-2 win on Tuesday before being swept by GAC-leader Arkansas Tech on Friday
- Carly Zak led the team in both matches, putting down 20 kills against SE and 10 vs ATU
- Joey Collins added 19 kills against SE while Brandy Mader had a double-double with 37 assists and 21 digs
- Shayne Haley had eight kills and three blocks against Arkansas Tech
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU is tied with Arkansas-Monticello for eighth in the GAC standings at 4-6
- East Central is in 10th, three games behind the Bulldogs at 1-10
- SNU is one of three teams with three conference losses (NWOSU, SE) and currently third in the standings
- 2014 will be the first year that the GAC Volleyball champion is not undefeated in conference play
 
SWOSU Notes
- With 30 kills last week, Carly Zak has upped her career total to an even 600 in the category, ranking her ninth all-time at SWOSU
- Zak now needs just two kills to surpass Paula Harry (601, 2005-07) for eighth place and with 14 more she can move all the way up to sixth place, ahead of former teammate Alison Cole (613, 2012-13)
- Joey Collins became the career leader in attack attempts at SWOSU last week and she currently has 2,899 attempts to her credit
- Kaila Lancaster is just 12 digs away from 1,100 for her career and she ranks third all-time at SWOSU in the category
- Kenya Williams moved into the top ten in career digs as well, currently ranking ninth with 554
- Williams also ranks sixth in career service aces with 63, needing eight to move into fifth place
- Kiley Brennfoerder ranks fourth in the GAC in blocks with 64 (1.00/set) and with three more she will move past former teammate Alison Cole (236, 2012-13) and into second in career blocks at SWOSU
- Taylor VanderWerff set a new career high with 7 blocks (1 solo, 6 assist) last week against Southeastern
- Shayne Haley has recorded six or more kills in 11 consecutive matches and she's the Bulldogs third-leading offensive threat with 124 kills on the year
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU concludes October play with a home match against Cameron on Tuesday
- The Bulldogs then visit Harding on Saturday, November 1 for one of the final GAC matches of the season