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GAC Volleyball Championships - Presented by Subway Quarterfinals (6) Northwestern Oklahoma State (11-17) vs. (3) SWOSU (19-11) Thursday, November 19, 2:00 pm Hot Springs, Ark. (Bank of the Ozarks Arena) Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- After concluding the regular season with a thrilling, five-set victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State in Alva, the Bulldog volleyball team will again face the Rangers on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Great American Conference Tournament
- The GAC Volleyball Championships - Presented by Subway, will be played in Hot Springs, Arkansas for the third straight season
- SWOSU is 1-4 all-time in the GAC Tournament, with their lone win over Ouachita in the first round of the 2012 tournament
- The Bulldogs are 0-2 in the event since it's been played in Hot Springs, but they claimed their highest seed in the tournament as they come in this year in the No. 3 position
- SWOSU finished 2-0 against Northwestern Oklahoma State this season, winning in straight sets in Weatherford on September 24 and defeating the Rangers 3-2 at Alva on the final night of the regular season
- Northwestern is making their first-ever postseason appearance after completing their transition to NCAA Division II this past summer
 
The Opponents
Northwestern Oklahoma State (11-17, 8-8 GAC)
- Finished tied for seventh in the Great American Conference standings, but earned the tiebreaker for the No. 6-seed with a head-to-head victory over Ouachita Baptist
- Ended the regular season with back-to-back defeats, finishing up at 11-17 overall with eight of their 11 victories coming on their home court
- Winless on a neutral floor this season, with two losses at the Panhandle State tournament to start the year and three the following weekend at the Nebraska-Kearney Classic
- Led by five seniors who will be playing in the GAC Tournament for the first time
- Nora To'omalatai leads the team with 290 kills (3.26/set) while Natalie Fahey is hitting a team-best .310 from her middle positions
- The Rangers have a team hitting percentage of .178 for the year with 1,288 kills, while opponents are hitting .188 against them with 1,190 kills
- Other team leaders include setter Kaydee Yukawa with 638 assists (6.13/set), Carley Geer with 281 digs (4.26/set) and Fahey with 59 blocks (0.61/set)
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (53-71, 4th season)
- Named second head volleyball coach in SWOSU history on January 1, 2012
- Has led SWOSU Volleyball to their best season in program history in 2015, finishing the regular season with 19 victories, an 11-win improvement from 2014
- Has coached six All-GAC selections and one GAC Freshman of the Year in three seasons
- His teams have earned two AVCA Team Academic Awards and one GAC Sportsmanship Award
- Added the duties of Director of Gameday Operations at SWOSU in the fall of 2014.
 
NWOSU: Fredrick Wagner (11-17, 1st season)
- First-year head coach of the Rangers who spent 2012-13 at Iowa Central CC
- Has also been the head coach at Kansas City Kansas CC and Avila College
 
At The Conference Tournament
- SWOSU won their first-ever postseason game in the quarterfinals of the 2012 GAC Tournament against Ouachita
- The Bulldogs are 1-4 all-time at the GAC Tournament, but they've never met Northwestern Oklahoma State in postseason play
- Top-seeded Arkansas Tech has won three of the last four GAC Tournaments, with Harding claiming the crown in 2012
- SWOSU is 1-0 as the higher seed in the conference tourney, defeating No. 5-seed Ouachita as the No. 4-seed in 2012
 
SWOSU Notes
- Individual Single Season Records Update:
      • Kayla Hebert, 46 service aces (1st)
      • Carly Zak, 3.69 kills/set (1st)
      • Kayla Hebert, 1012 assists (2nd)
      • Kayla Hebert, 9.73 assists/set (2nd)
      • Kelsi Schmidtberger, .323 hitting % (2nd)
      • Carly Zak 451.0 points (2nd)
      • Carly Zak, 391 kills (3rd)
      • Paige Holt, 73 block assists (5th)
      • carly Zak, 1072 attempts (5th)
      • Kaila Lancaster, 444 digs (6th)
      • Kaila Lancaster, 4/11 digs/set (6th)
- Team Single Season Records Update:
      • Attack Percentage: .215 (1st)
      • Service Aces: 184 (2nd)
      • Assists/Set: 11.39 (3rd)
      • Kills/Set: 12.35 (3rd)
      • Blocks/Set: 1.76 (4th)
      • Digs/Set: 16.28 (4th)
      • Kills: 1,246 (4th)
      • Assists: 1,241 (4th)
      • Total Blocks: 193.0 (5th)
      • Digs: 1,775 (6th)
- Individual GAC Rankings:
      • Kayla Hebert, 46 service aces (3rd)
      • Kelsi Schmidtberger, .323 hitting % (3rd)
      • Carly Zak, 451.0 points (4th)
      • Carly Zak, 393 kills (4th)
      • Kayla Hebert, 1,012 assists (5th)
      • Paige Holt, 89 blocks (6th)
      • Kaila Lancaster, 444 digs (10th)
      • Carly Zak, 31 service aces (10th)
- Team GAC Rankings:
      • Service Aces: 184 (1st)
      • Attack Percentage: .215 (3rd)
      • Blocks: 193.0 (3rd)
      • Assists: 1,241 (6th)
      • Kills: 1,346 (5th)
      • Opponent Hitting Pct: .193 (7th)
      • Digs: 1,775 (6th)