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SWOSU (4-5, 2-0 GAC) at Southern Nazarene (7-3, 1-0 GAC) Tuesday, September 23, 7:00 pm Bethany, Okla. (Sawyer Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live ($) SWOSU at Henderson State (1-9, 0-2 GAC) Friday, September 26, 6:00 pm Arkadelphia, Ark. (Duke Wells Center) Live Stats SWOSU at Ouachita Baptist (7-2, 1-1 GAC) Saturday, September 27, 11:00 am Arkadelphia, Ark. (Sturgis Physical Education Center) Live Stats SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- With wins in four of their past five matches, the SWOSU volleyball team is carrying momentum into their first week with multiple Great American Conference matches
- Among the four wins are two GAC wins, leaving the Bulldogs one of four teams in the conference who have yet to suffer a conference defeat
- One team will be eliminated from that group on Tuesday as the Bulldogs visit Southern Nazarene, who is 7-3 overall and 1-0 in GAC action
- SNU swept the Bulldogs last season and they hold a 6-3 edge in the all-time series
- The weekend will see the Bulldogs on the road to Arkansas for the first time this season, facing Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist
- SWOSU is 4-0 against Henderson State since the formation of the GAC, but they are just 2-4 against Ouachita Baptist, including two five-set defeats last season
- SWOSU and Ouachita Baptist have faced each other in the past two GAC Tournaments, with the Bulldogs eliminating OBU in 2012 and the Tigers returning the favor last season
- In 2012, the Bulldogs swept their last road trip to Arkadelphia, winning both matches in four sets
 
The Opponents
Southern Nazarene
- Have managed a difficult schedule and enter the week with a 7-3 record, including a 1-0 conference mark
- Only suffered losses to nationally ranked Washburn and NCAA-transitioning powers Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma Baptist
- Leading the GAC in blocks by a wide margin, averaging 2.4 per set
- Led by MH Taylor Jacobs, a two-time GAC Player of the Week this season who leads the conference in kills with 132 (3.57/set)
 
Henderson State
- Off to a slow start in 2014 with just one win in their first 10 matches of the year
- Have suffered six of their nine defeats in just three sets
- Lone victory was in five sets over Philander Smith
- Led by MH Jessica Moss, who is averaging 3.0 kills per set
 
Ouachita Baptist
- Enter the week with a 7-2 record, including a 1-1 mark in GAC play
- After dropping their season opener, won six straight matches and seven of their last eight
- Rank fourth in the GAC in hitting percentage (.215) and third in opponent hitting (.152), the only conference team in the top four of both categories
- Three players averaging more than 2.0 kills per set: Kelley Ballard, Kori Bullard & Jayme Shell
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (30-46, 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 Nazarene: Kevin Ingram (294-213, 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
 
Henderson State: Rhonda Thigpen (478-401, 25th season)
- Currently ranks in the Top 20 in NCAA Division II for career wins among active coaches
- Has guided the Reddies to two Gulf South Conference Championships, three NAIA Tournament appearances, two NAIA Final Four appearances and the program's only NCAA tournament appearance
- Five-time conference coach of the year
 
Ouachita Baptist: Danny Prescott (142-177, 11th season)
- One of the longest tenured coaches in the GAC, now in his 11th season at OBU
- Has four winning seasons as the Tigers head coach, including three in the past four years
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU earned a split on Friday at the OPSU Triangular, falling to St. Edwards 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 15-25, 7-25) before rebounding to sweep Panhandle State 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-9)
- Brandy Mader had a double-double of 25 assists and 17 digs against the Hilltoppers
- The win over Panhandle was SWOSU's 11th all-time against the Aggies, the most by the Bulldogs over any opponent
- Mader had a career-best four solo blocks against OPSU along with 19 assists
- Carly Zak added a combined 21 kills to her season total in the doubleheader
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU is one of four remaining GAC teams without a conference loss
- Arkansas Tech is atop the list at 3-0, followed by SWOSU and Harding at 2-0 and Southern Nazarene at 1-0
- Ouachita Baptist is tied with Northwestern and UAM at 1-1
- Henderson State is one of four winless teams in the GAC, joining Southeastern, SAU & ECU
 
SWOSU Notes
- The 3-2 win over East Central makes SWOSU 2-0 in five-set matches this year after going 1-5 in such matches last season
- SWOSU ranks fourth in the GAC in opponent hitting, holding foes to a .158 percentage
- Kiley Brennfoerder's 12 blocks (2 solo, 10 assist) against East Central last Tuesday matched a school record (Kacia Sandburg, vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, 10/30/08)
- The Bulldogs rank fourth in the GAC in blocking with an average of 1.82 per set
- Carly Zak matched the fourth-highest kill total in school history with 22 against East Central
- Zak now has 99 kills on the year and 495 for her career, moving into the SWOSU all-time top ten list last week
- Senior Joey Collins played her 100th career match at SWOSU last Tuesday against ECU, becoming just the second player in program history to reach that milestone
- Collins ranks second in career kills at SWOSU with 765, trailing only Kasandra Gurtner (1,036, 2005-07) in that category
- 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 261 (7.91/set) and she's second on the team with 20 blocks (5 solo, 15 assist)
- Kaila Lancaster needs 10 digs to move into fourth place on the all-time list at SWOSU. She has 943 for her career, trailing Kristen Kaufman (952, 2006-09) for fourth
- Lancaster ranks fifth in the Great American Conference in digs with 138 (4.18/set)
- Taylor VanderWerff set a new career high with eight kills against ECU and she ranks third on the team in blocks with 18
- Kenya Williams has a team-best 13 service aces this season to rank sixth in the GAC
- Shayne Haley is SWOSU's third-leading offensive threat with 58 kills (1.76/set) to date
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will play nine of their ten matches at home during the month of October
- That stretch begins against Southern Arkansas (Oct. 3) and Arkansas-Monticello (Oct. 4)