Oct. 19, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Kentucky opens the second half of the Sun Belt Conference season with a pair of matches against Western Division counterparts New Orleans and South Alabama. The Lady Toppers will take on UNO Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) before heading down Interstate 10 for a clash with USA Saturday at 5 p.m.
WKU (18-6, 6-2 Sun Belt) just completed a three-match homestand with a 3-0 (15-1, 15-3, 15-1) drubbing of Tennessee State Tuesday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers set school records for the fewest points allowed in a three-game match (5) and the shortest home contest (51 minutes) while extending their winning streak over Ohio Valley Conference opponents to 12 matches. Junior middle hitter Jessica Willard posted a team-high six kills, one of four Western players with five or more kills. By contrast, TSU finished with just four team kills and hit (-.286) for the match, the lowest hitting ratio by a WKU opponent this season.
New Orleans (11-10, 4-4 Sun Belt) returns home Friday night to face the Lady Toppers after losing four of five matches on a tough two-week road trip. The Privateers should enjoy the friendly surroundings of Lakefront Arena, where they have gone 7-1 this season. UNO last took the floor on Tuesday, when it came up on the short end of a 3-0 (15-9, 16-14, 16-14) decision at LSU. Middle blocker Mary Wanko tallied a team-high 16 kills, while outside Melissa Caravella rolled up a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs. The Privateers played LSU tough, holding game points in both the second and third games before succumbing.
UNO is led by outside hitter and All-America candidate Jessica Perdue, who is tops in the Sun Belt with 4.91 kills per game. However, she has missed the Privateers' last five matches with a broken hand and her status for Friday's match is questionable. New Orleans also ranks as one of the top blocking teams in the conference, averaging 2.64 rejections per game. Middle blocker Ann MacMillan has been the leading culprit, ringing up 1.23 bpg.
Friday's match will be the seventh all-time meeting between WKU and UNO in New Orleans. Western owns a 4-2 lead in matches played in the Big Easy, including a 3-0 (15-11, 15-10, 15-11) victory in last year's visit to Lakefront Arena. The overall series between the two schools is tied at six wins apiece.
South Alabama (7-10, 3-5) has been one of the pleasant surprises in the Sun Belt this season. The Jaguars have already surpassed their win total from all of last season (6), and have topped their victory count in SBC matches from the last four years combined (2). Like Western, USA has not had many contests on its home floor, playing only five of 17 matches at home and going 1-4 in those tilts.
The Jaguars are back at home this weekend after a four-match Sun Belt road trip. South Alabama has had nearly a week off since its last contest, a 3-1 (7-15, 15-13, 17-15, 15-7) win over Louisiana Tech last Sunday in Ruston, La. Middle blocker Holly Miller notched a match-high 19 kills and setter Kelly Weiler narrowly missed a triple double, finishing with 61 assists, 17 digs and eight kills. USA hit .243 as a team, led by Weiler's stellar .438 ratio.
Miller has been South Alabama's top offensive threat this season, ranking ninth in the Sun Belt at 3.79 kills per game. She is also hitting .227 and averaging 1.96 digs per game, placing second on the team in both categories. Outside hitter Selena Gamble is second on the squad with 3.03 kills per game and tops on the team with 2.68 digs per game. In addition, Weiler has been deadly from the service line, leading the Sun Belt and ranking third nationally with 0.68 aces per game. As a team, the Jaguars stand second in the SBC at 2.06 sapg after spending much of the first half of the season atop the league charts and among the national leaders.
The all-time series between Western and South Alabama is one of the longest in Sun Belt volleyball history, dating all the way back to 1982. The Lady Toppers own an 18-9 edge in the series, with a 7-4 advantage in Mobile. WKU has won the last six contests with the Jaguars, but last year's match was a tight five-game affair -- the Lady Toppers had to rally from a pair of one-game deficits to emerge with the victory.
-- WKU --
