Volleyball SCAC Tournament Preview
MULTIMEDIA
Livestats (1st Match vs. Austin College)
Video (All Matches Free on College TV Ticket)
Complete SCAC Tournament Website
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FIRST SERVE
The University of Dallas volleyball team (13-19, 5-9 SCAC) travels to Shreveport, Louisiana, for the Southern Colligate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Tournament on November 4-5. Fifth seeded Dallas is the first quarterfinal match of the day with fourth seeded Austin College at 10:30 a.m.
Dallas ended the regular season with two non-conference setbacks versus Howard Payne University (3-1) and McMurry University (3-0). The Crusaders clinched the No. 5 spot in the tournament by defeating Schreiner University in four sets. That clinched UD the tie breaker over Texas Lutheran University.
UD NOTES
- Jessie Koster (Sherwood, Ore.) earned conference Backrow Player-of-the-Year and was named to All-SCAC 2nd Team. The senior libero continues to lead NCAA Division III in total digs (806) and digs-per-set (7.46).
- Koster's 56 digs over the pair of matches last weekend in Abilene helped her break her own single-season record from 2015.
- Dallas as a team ranks third in NCAA DIII with 2,297 total digs. The team is also ranked within top five for digs-per-set with a 20.15 mark.
- Mairin Guilfoyle (Roanoke, Va.) headlines the offense with personal-highs in kills (337) and kills-per-set (3.27). Guilfoyle ranks fourth all-time in total kills and is fifth in the conference for kills average.
- Mary Scholz (Fallon, Nev.) is the other player averaging at least 2.50 kills a set with a 2.56-clip. Scholz has registered 287 kills, including a career-high of 21 last Saturday against Howard Payne University.
- Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.) rounds out the top three hitters on UD with 222 kills (2.07 k/s) and has dug 393 balls for second on the squad.
- Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) has been the primary setter and posted a career-high 929 assists.
PREVIEW OF SCAC QUARTERFINAL
Dallas has been paired up with Austin College (23-13, 7-7 SCAC) in the first quarterfinal match. This will be the third meeting this season between the programs, and the teams split during the fall. Both contests were decided in five sets, with the fifth set being a 15-13 result.
The 'Roos are led by two All-SCAC Players, Rebekah Bowden and Presleigh Watson. The pair of middle blockers were the top two players on the team in blocks. Watson leads with team-highs in total blocks (123) and solo blocks (34). Bowden is right behind in overall blocks with 120.
Watson has amassed a team-leading 347 kills and Madison Lee follows with 308. Bowden is just beneath the 300-plateau with 295. Katie Ingle has 1,235 assists and Madi McVay has 532 digs.
After concluding conference play with losses to ranked opponents Southwestern University and Trinity University, the Maroon and Gold closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak in the Centenary Halloween Tournament. This included three straight set sweeps.
OTHER OPPONENT STATS
Dallas is 3-7 in SCAC Tournament contests since joining the league in 2012. The Crusaders have dropped all three games previously to Austin College. This includes a 3-0 setback in 2015 in a consolidation match. This is the first time since the league expanded to eight teams that UD is the fifth seed. It is second time for Dallas since joining the league. The other time was in 2012.
Last season, Dallas was topped in Georgetown, Texas, by Texas Lutheran University in the quarterfinals. The most recent victory for the Crusaders was two years ago in a 3-2 victory to Texas Lutheran. Dallas was the fourth seed and would later fall in a set sweep to eventual champion Trinity.
UP NEXT
If Dallas prevails on Friday in the opener, then it will face No. 1-Seed Trinity University at 3:30 p.m. If Dallas falls in the opener, that will push the team to a consolidation bracket. That match would be at 11 a.m. on Saturday against the loser between No.3-Seed Colorado College and No. 6-Seed Texas Lutheran University.