PREVIEW: Volleyball - Centenary (9/16) | Austin College (9/17) | Colorado College (9/17)
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THE LEAD
The University of Dallas volleyball team (4-5) begins Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) action at Colorado College for a Divisional on Friday and Saturday. The Crusaders first league opponent is Centenary College of Louisiana at 5 p.m. (CST). The next day, UD has a doubleheader with Austin College at 11:30 a.m. (CST) and host school No. 4 Colorado College at 6 p.m. (CST).
Dallas is looking to bounce back after dropping five sets to McMurry University and capping a 1-3 weekend at the Austin College Invitational.
UD NOTES
- Jessie Koster (Sherwood, Ore.) earned her second consecutive All-Tournament Team in the AC Invitational. The senior libero has recorded 224 digs and is averaging 7.00 digs-per-set. Both of those totals lead the SCAC and rank Koster 5th in United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA).
- Mary Scholz (Fallon, Nev.) maintained her spot atop the kills category on the team with 92 (2.88 K/Set) and slots fourth in the conference leaderboard. Mairin Guilfoyle (Roanoke, Va.) clobbered a career-high 19 kills in the most recent outing and combined for 32 last Saturday. The senior outside hitter notched her first double-double of the campaign with 17 digs.
- Diana Hassink (Tulsa, Okla.) has logged three straight double figure kill performances and had a pair of double-doubles last weekend. Hassink amassed 40 kills and 47 digs over the quartet of contests.
- Elizabeth Smith (Broken Arrow, Okla.) tied a season-high 38 assists in the last match. She compiled 110 assists over the recent four games and is ranked fifth in the SCAC averaging 7.13 assists per set.
SCOUTING THE LADIES
Centenary College (1-8) has dropped the past seven matches including the last four a weekend ago at a tournament hosted at Belhaven University. The Ladies were selected eighth in the SCAC predicted order of finish preseason poll.
Desiree Frey leads the Ladies with 92 kills (2.79 K/Set) with Hailey Lawson not far behind with 80. Lawson ranks second in the SCAC with 0.65 service aces per set. Allison Lazewski is the team leader in assists with 203.
The Crusaders are 11-0 in the all-time series against Centenary. UD won both meetings last season with set sweeps. In a game at the Maher Center, Guilfoyle pounded 15 kills and hit a .387 kill percentage in the victory.
SCOUTING THE 'ROOS
Austin College (7-4) dropped their first contest away from Hughey Gym this season on Tuesday with a 3-0 loss at University of Texas at Dallas. Prior to that, Austin College went 3-1 over the Austin College Invitational with the lone blemish being to No. 11 Hendrix College.
A quartet of players have at least 80 kills with Rebekah Bowden guiding the group with 92. Maddison Lee follows one behind and Presleigh Watson rounds out the top three with 89. Dani DeWitt completes the entire unit with 86. That group has compiled 358 of AC's 444 total kills. Bowden ranks fourth in the SCAC for hitting percentage (.354) and blocks per set (1.11). Katie Ingle is third in the league with 9.59 assists-per-set and has amassed 355.
Dallas is 6-47 in the overall series with the 'Roos. In 2015, UD was unsuccessful in three matchups with Austin College. This included a 3-0 final in the SCAC Tournament. The Crusaders won a set last season at the Maher Center in the opener by a 25-21 result. Hassink produced a game-high 13 kills and 24 digs for a double-double. Guilfoyle chipped in 12 kills and Koster notched 30 digs.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
No. 4 Colorado College (8-0) enters with a perfect record and has garnered all its success on the friendly confines this month. The Black and Gold improved to No. 4 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) rankings this week. The most recent result for CC was a 3-1 triumph over University of Texas-Tyler.
Abbe Holtze leads the squad offensively having surpassed the century mark with 106 kills. Her 3.93 kills per set ranks tops in the SCAC and total kills is in the top two. Marguerite Spaethlin and Glenna Yancey own two of the top three ranks in the conference for blocks per set. Spaethling checks in with a 1.48-clip to lead the category and Yancey is tied for third with a 1.11 mark.
The Crusaders are 0-13 versus Colorado College all-time. Both matches in 2015 were set sweeps.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
A busy trek continues for the Crusaders after this weekend. On Tuesday, September 20, Dallas is at Dallas Christian College for a 6 p.m. tilt. On Sept. 24-25, it's back to a familiar venue for UD with Austin College hosting an SCAC Cross-Divisional. Opponents for the Crusaders include: Schreiner University, Texas Lutheran University, Southwestern University, and Trinity University.