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SWOSU (3-3, 0-0 GAC) at East Central (2-6, 0-0 GAC) Tuesday, Sept. 15, 7:00 pm Ada, Okla. (Kerr Activities Center) Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU (3-3) at #19 Central Oklahoma (8-1) Saturday, Sept. 19, 7:00 pm Edmond, Okla. (Hamilton Field House) Live Stats  |  Watch Live SWOSU Weekly Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Volleyball heads into the third week of the 2015 season, which will include a trip to Ada to face East Central in the Bulldogs Great American Conference opener
- The Bulldogs enter the week 3-3 after a split against Midwestern State and Texas Wesleyan last Wednesday at a triangular match in Wichita Falls
- The weekend schedule is slightly altered as the triangular at Bacone has been cancelled, leaving the Bulldogs facing Central Oklahoma instead on Saturday night in Edmond
- SWOSU will look to even the all-time series against East Central at six wins apiece while the Bulldogs are searching for their first-ever win against the Bronchos
 
The Opponents
East Central (2-6, 0-0 GAC)
- Earned a split at their home classic last weekend to improve to 2-6 on the year after an 0-4 showing in Florida to open the season
- Defeated Panhandle State and Texas A&M-Commerce before suffering setbacks against Fort Hays State and Williams Jewell last weekend
-  Hitting .121 as a team with Madyson Gill (75 kills) and Sarah Simpson (71) ranking as their top offensive threats
 
#19 Central Oklahoma (8-1)
- Moved into the AVCA Top 25 Poll at #19 this week after an impressive 8-1 start that includes a 3-0 victory over #24 West Texas A&M and their lone defeat against #11 Florida Southern
- The Bronchos enter the week 2-0 against Great American Conference foes (Henderson State, Oklahoma Baptist) with matches against Southeastern, Northwestern & SWOSU this week
- Barbara Jackson leads the team with 102 kills (3.78/set) while Taylor Bevis is not far behind with 92 (3.07/set) while hitting .341 on the year
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Josh Collins (37-63, 4th season)
- Named second head volleyball coach in SWOSU history on January 1, 2012
- 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.
 
East Central: Dave Thorn (74-160, 8th season)
- The only head coach in East Central volleyball history, where he has had eight players earn All-GAC distinction in the past four years
- Previously served as the head coach at Texas-Pan American from 1998-2006
 
Central Oklahoma: Edgar Miraku (73-34, 4th season)
- Has led the Bronchos to back-to-back 20-win seasons, including a 28-5 record in 2014 that included three wins over top-15 teams
- Previously served as the head coach at Edmond Memorial HS for seven years, winning four Class 6A State Championships
 
Checking the Standings
- Through two weeks, the Bulldogs win percentage of .500 is the fourth-best mark among Great American Conference teams
- Arkansas Tech and Ouachita Baptist have the top records in the league at 5-3 heading into the first league contests
- Arkansas-Monticello is also just above SWOSU at 3-2
- SWOSU's first conference opponent, East Central, is one of three teams that enter the week with a 2-6 record
 
Last Time Out
- SWOSU earned a split at the MSU Triangular last Wednesday, falling to Midwestern State in four sets before defeating Texas Wesleyan 3-1
- Carly Zak had another big day offensively, recording 33 kills in the two matches, including 18 in the win over TWU
- Kayla Hebert had a pair of double-doubles with 38 assists & 18 digs against MSU and 37-12 against TWU
 
SWOSU Notes
- SWOSU newcomer Kayla Hebert earned a pair of honors following her first week with the Bulldogs, being named GAC Setter of the Week and earning All-Tournament Team honors at the Hilltopper Classic
- Hebert currently ranks fourth in the GAC in assists with 211 (9.59/set) and second in service aces with 15
- Kelsi Schmidtberger currently ranks third in the league with a .340 hitting percentage and she's second on the team with 43 kills (1.95/set) this season
- Kaila Lancaster leads the GAC in digs with an average of 5.59 per set and she eclipsed a new milestone with her 1,400th career dig last week. Lancaster is SWOSU's career leader in digs with 1,411 to her credit
- Carly Zak has led the Bulldogs in kills five times in six matches this year and she ranks third in the GAC with an average of 3.82 kills per set for the year
- Blair Dressendorfer set a new career high with 11 kills against Midwestern State, giving her 36 (2.21/set) for the year
- Paige Holt ranks third on the team in kills with 41 (1.86/set) and leads the Bulldogs with 15 blocks (3 solo, 12 assist)
- Lindsey McCauley has reached double figures in digs three times this season and she currently ranks fourth on the team with 54 (2.45/set)
 
Looking Ahead
- At long last, SWOSU Volleyball will play in the Pioneer Cellular Event Center next week, facing in-state foes Southern Nazarene (Tuesday) and Northwestern Oklahoma State (Thursday)