SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team closes out their Southland Conference schedule with two home games this week.  They host Northwestern State at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday and Stephen F. Austin on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

The Cardinals (10-18, 6-8 SLC) are coming off two straight five-set victories over Southland Conference rivals, Nicholls and McNeese State.  They currently sit ninth in the conference, but two victories would put them at .500 in the conference  for a second straight year.

Angelique Vidaurri (San Antonio/Southwest HS) has led the Cardinals' offense all season long.  Vidaurri is averaging 3.18 kills per set and she needs 30 kills to move into 12^th place on the school's career list.  Freshman Madison Williams (New Braunfels/Canyon HS) has stepped up to be the Cardinals top setter in the last few games. In her last five matches, she has averaged over 48 sets per match.  Shaina Garza (San Antonio/Warren HS) has been a strong contributor for the Cardinals in the 2014 season. She ranks second in the team in digs at 2.53 per set and third in kills at 2.10 per set.

Northwestern State (11-16, 8-6 SLC) has lost three of their last four games, including the last two in a row. The Cardinals will be looking for revenge as the Lady Demons hosted the Cardinals earlier this season and beat them in four sets.  The Lady Demons are hitting .151 as a team and are averaging 11.6 kills, 17.5 digs and 2.5 blocks per set. Their top offensive player is Mackenzie Neely who is averaging 2.74 kills per set while Emily Johnson dishes out 4.88 assists per set.  On the defensive side, Bailey Martin leads the way with 5.01 digs per set.

Stephen F. Austin (21-7, 14-0 SLC) sits at the top of the Southland Conference with an undefeated conference record. They are on a current 14-game winning streak and have already clinched at least sharing the conference championship. They rank first in the conference in hitting percentage, .231, assists per set, 12.82 and kills per set, 13.49. Jill Ivy leads the team with 3.53 kills per set, Paige Holland averages 9.72 assists per set and OJ Olson has 5.29 digs per set. Olson was named Southland Conference defensive player of the week for the period of Nov. 3-9. This was Olson's third time taking the award in the 2014 season.
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