The East Central University will wrap up its five-match non-conference road swing, Tuesday, Oct. 15 when they travel to Arkansas-Fort Smith for a 6 p.m. match.  The Lady Tigers will then return to Great American Conference action over the weekend with home matches against Arkansas-Monticello (Oct. 18/7 p.m.) and Southern Arkansas (Oct. 19/2 p.m.).

Match Notes

Scouting Arkansas-Fort Smith
The Lions are 11-6 overall and 8-0 in the Heartland Conference after winning their last five matches.  UAFS is close in most of the box score categories with its opponents, but holds advantages in hitting percentage (.208/.164) and blocks (1.8/1.3).

The Lions have eight hitters with over 100 attempts, but three that stand out with over 400 swings.  Michelle Walker leads the team with a .246 (189k-64e-509ta) attack percentage.  Jordan Erz is the most consistent hitter on the team with a .261 (162k-51e425ta) hitting percentage.  Erz also adds 13 service aces and 38 (7-31) blocks.

Against the Lions
The teams meet in Ada in 2012, with UAFS earning a 0-3 win.  The match was close in all statistical categories, except hitting percentage, where the Lions earned a .125 to .214 advantage.

Senior Danielle Essix leads the ECU returners with eight kills, seven digs and three blocks.  The top returner for the Lions is Jordan Pickett, with eight kills.

The Series
Tuesday's match will be the seventh in the all-time series, which dates back to 2009.  UAFS has been the victor in all six previous meetings, including a 3-0 mark when playing in Fort Smith, Ark.

Scouting Arkansas-Monticello
The Cotton Blossoms are 10-10 overall and 2-4 in the league after winning their last match Oct. 8.  UAM will return to action, Tuesday to face Henderson State.

The Cotton Blossoms are .500 with their opponents and it shows on the season box, where they are close in all categories except blocks.  UAM holds a 2.2 to 1.4 advantage in blocks per set.

There are six Cotton Blossom hitters with over 200 attempts on the season, but two that stand out.  Tori Bozzo and Jessica Cuba lead the team with over 500 attack attempts.  Bozzo has a .244 (220k-79e-578ta) hitting percentage and adds 23 service aces.  Cuba is hitting just .131 (153k-85e-518ta), but has 23 service aces and 31 (9-22) blocks.

Against the Cotton Blossoms
Last year the Lady Tigers and UAM meet just once, with the Cotton Blossoms earning a 1-3 win in a very close match.

Senior Danielle Essix and sophomore Hayley Gerken lead the ECU returners.  Essix tallied 13 kills and 13 digs, while Gerken added 10 kills.

The top returner for UAM is Tusalava Kuaea, with 11 kills.

The Series
Friday's match will be the seventh in the all-time series, which dates back to the opening ECU season of 2008.  The Cotton Blossoms hold a 4-2 lead in the series, but the series is knotted at one when played in Ada.

Scouting Southern Arkansas
The Muleriders are 13-7 overall and 4-2 in GAC action this season.  SAU will face Lyon College Tuesday and Southeastern Friday before making the trip to the Kerr Activities Center.

The Muleriders lead their opponents in all the columns on the season box score, but it is close.  SAU has five hitters, with two that are their go-to hitters.

Hailey McNee and Courtney Geesing lead the Muleriders with over 400 attempts each.  McNee is the clear first choice of the setter, with 598 attempts.  She has a .171 (210k-108e-598ta) hitting percentage and adds 21 service aces.  Geesing is hitting at a .153 (134k-66e-443ta) pace and has 20 (6-14) blocks.

Against the Muleriders
Last year the Lady Tigers lost both matches with SAU, with both going to five sets.  The second meeting of the season was at the 2012 GAC Tournament.

Seniors Noelle Cope and Danielle Essix lead the ECU returners.  Cope tallied 28 kills, 27 digs, nine (2-7) blocks and three service aces.  Essix added 26 kills and 32 digs.

Courtney Geesing is the top returner for the Muleriders, with 20 kills and 24 digs.

The Series
Saturday's match will be the ninth in the all-time series, which dates back to the first season for the Lady Tigers (2008).  The series is currently knotted at four wins each; but ECU holds a 2-0 advantage when playing in Ada.

Blocking Party
The Lady Tigers are already on pace to have one of the best blocking seasons after their opening two matches of the season.  The most blocks in a season by ECU is 245.0 from the 2011 season, which averaged out to 1.93 blocks per set.  The Lady Tigers already have 127 blocks, or 1.92 per set.  ECU's 2.02 blocks per game (as of Oct. 8) ranks them No. 69 in the NCAA.  Senior Sarah Nelson, who is now the Lady Tigers all-time leading blocker, is ranked No. 41 in the nation for her 1.11 blocks per set.

Tracking the Record Books
While the ECU volleyball program has only been around since 2008, there are several members of the 2013 squad that are at the top or close to the top of several career record categories.

Taylor Brown    
- 4th Assists (720)

Noelle Cope     
- 1st Kills (952)
- 1st Attempts (2,785)
- 1st Points (1112.0)
- 4th Block Assists (122)
- 4th Block Solos (27)
- 4th Total Blocks (149)
- 4th Matches Played (104)
- 4th Sets Played (360)

Danielle Essix    
- 2nd Attempts (2,609)
- 2nd Kills (824)
- 2nd Service Aces (81)
- 3rd Matches Played (110)
- 3rd Points (965.0)
- 3rd Sets Played (374)
- 3rd Digs (789)

Hayley Gerken  
- 3rd Total Blocks (161)
 - 3rd Block Assists (139)
- 4th Attack Pct. (.203)

Sarah Nelson    
- 1st Total Blocks (265)
- 1st Block Assists (231)
- 2nd Block Solos (34)
- 5th Matches Played (100)

Madison Seiler    
- 5th Assists (278)

Jessica Wilkinson    
- 3rd Assists (1,121)

Up Next
The Lady Tigers will hit the road for two conference matches next week.  ECU will face Southern Nazarene Tuesday, Oct. 22 and Henderson State Friday, Oct. 26.