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2014 MSU/Hampton Inn-vitational Wichita Falls, Texas (D.L. Ligon Coliseum) Tournament Homepage  |  SWOSU Weekly Notes Friday, September 5 9:00 am: SWOSU vs. #10 Washburn (Live Stats) 4:30 pm: SWOSU vs. Molloy College (Live Stats) Saturday, September 6 11:30 am: SWOSU at Midwestern State (Live Stats) 4:30 pm: SWOSU vs. CSU-Pueblo (Live Stats)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Volleyball enters their 10th season as a program in 2014 this weekend at the Midwestern State Hampton Inn-vitational in Wichita Falls, Texas
- This marks the second straight season the Bulldogs have opened up at the Midwestern State tournament and the third straight year they've opened with tournament play in Texas
- SWOSU opens the season against #10 Washburn on Friday, the Bulldogs first meeting against a ranked opponent since October 11, 2013 (Central Missouri, L 0-3)
- The Bulldogs will face two opponents at the tournament that they saw last season: Midwestern State and CSU-Pueblo. Midwestern State swept SWOSU in both matches while CSU-Pueblo downed the Bulldogs 3-1 in their home tournament
- SWOSU's second game on Friday will be against first-time opponent Molloy College, a team travelling to the tournament from Rockville Center, New York
 
The Opponents
#10 Washburn
- From Topeka, Kan., member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA)
- Enter the season ranked 10th, the same spot they ended the 2013 season after finishing the year 31-6 (15-1 MIAA)
- Picked 2nd in the MIAA Preseason Poll
- Only one senior on the roster, All-America rightside hitter Marissa Cox
- Return seven letterwinners and added three transfers from NCAA Division I schools

Molloy College
- From Rockville Center, N.Y., member of the East Coast Conference (ECC)
- Picked seventh in the ECC following a 9-20 (3-13 ECC) record last season
- Return seven players from last season, including their three leading offensive threats in outside hitters Sam Berna and Cassie Palmer and righside hitter Shannon Appel
- Ended the 2013 season on a 10-match winless skid

Midwestern State
- From Wichita Falls, Texas, a former Lone Star Conference (LSC) foe of the Bulldogs
- Picked sixth in the LSC this season after finishing in that same spot in 2013
- Return seven letterwinners off of last season's 17-13 squad, which defeated SWOSU twice
- Key returners include All-LSC middle hitter Sarah Garfield along with starting outside Kaitlyn Molloy and setter Sarah Rosinke
- Tied with Cameron as second-most played opponent in SWOSU Volleyball history with 11 all-time meetings (1st: Southeastern Oklahoma State, 14 meetings)

CSU-Pueblo
- From Pueblo, Colo., a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)
- Picked to finish ninth in the RMAC after finishing last season 10-19 (7-12 RMAC)
- Leading returner is OH Morgan Wilkening, who led the team with 303 kills last season
- Many new faces with nine newcomers among 17 players on their roster
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (26-41, 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

Washburn: Chris Herron (373-65, 13th season)
- Has won 30 or more matches in seven straight seasons
- Led Washburn to three MIAA titles in the last four years
- Four-time MIAA Coach of the Year
- Has mentored 16 AVCA All-Americans at WU

Molloy: Billy Corrao (25-60, 4th season)
- Increased Lions win total to nine in 2013
- Came to Molloy after a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Adelphi University

MSU: Venera Flores Stafford (170-151, 11th season)
- Winningest coach in program history
- Averaging 17 wins per season and has led MSU to the LSC Championships in seven of ten seasons
- Led MSU to first NCAA Division II postseason appearance in 2007
- Had a 10-win improvement from 2012 to 2013

CSU-Pueblo: Jen Gomez (40-47, 4th season)
- Named head coach at her alma mater before the 2011 season after a successful five-year stint at Oklahoma City
- Led CSU-Pueblo to first winning season since 2006 in her first year
- All-RMAC selection for the Thunderwolves in 2000
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU ended the 2013 season with a 3-2 loss to Ouachita Baptist in the quarterfinals of the GAC Tournament
- Second consecutive year SWOSU was matched with OBU in the quarterfinals (def. OBU 3-1 in 2012)
- Bulldogs set a new school record with 237 attack attempts in the match
- SWOSU finished the season 13-21
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU finished tied for fourth in the GAC in 2013 and are picked to finish fifth this season
- Arkansas Tech is the preseason GAC favorite after receiving five first-place votes
- Two-time defending champion Harding is picked second, followed by SNU and OBU
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU returns two players who earned All-GAC honors in 2013: Joey Collins & Carly Zak
- Both were named second team All-GAC selections while Zak earned the GAC Freshman of the Year award
- With six seniors on the 2014 roster, SWOSU has matched the largest senior class in school history (2007, 2011)
- Collins enters her senior season ranking fourth in SWOSU history with 681 kills and second in attack attempts with 2,248
- Junior Kaila Lancaster enters the year ranking sixth in career digs at SWOSU with 805
- Senior Kiley Brennfoerder ranks fourth in career blocks at SWOSU with 170 entering 2013
- Zak (396) and Collins (383) put down the second and third-most single-season kills at SWOSU last season
- SWOSU ranked fourth in the GAC in blocking last season with a school-record 249.0 total blocks
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU will play twice next week, starting with the GAC opener on Tuesday at Southeastern
- Home opener and first game at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center will be next Thursday, September 11 at 6 pm