SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team is set to begin the 2016 season this weekend as they take part in the Hurricane Classic hosted by the University of Tulsa. The Cardinals start the tournament with two matches on Friday beginning at 12:00 p.m. against the host school, Tulsa, followed by a matchup against South Dakota at 4:30 p.m. to cap off Friday's Action. On Saturday, UIW will go head-to-head against the University of Alabama in their final match of the tournament starting at 11:00 a.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
The Cardinals return nine players from last year's team, and head coach Jennifer Montoya also added four Freshman: Cameron Taylor (Spring, TX/ Klein), Cameron Edwards (League City, TX/ Clear Springs), Allison Waits (Belton, TX/ Belton), and Emily Waller (Houston, TX/ Cypress Falls), as well as Junior Setter Sierra Moses (Austin, TX/ Panola JC) who transferred from Panola Junior College. Last season, Autumn Lockley (Leander, TX/ Leander) led the Cardinal's attack averaging 3.09 kills per set with a .231 attacking percentage and was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, and she is also on the 2016 All-Southland Volleyball Preseason First team to start the season.
Also returning for the Cardinals are Shaina Garza (San Antonio, TX/ Warren) and Bryaunea Hall (Copperas Cove, TX/ Copperas Cove) who also played a big role in the UIW attack last season. Garza finished the season averaging 2.08 kills per set while Hall averaged 2.21 kills per set with a .208 attacking percentage.
Defensively, the Cardinals return three players who averaged at least two digs per set starting with Claudia Hernandez (San Antonio, TX/ Antonian) who led the team with 2.82 digs per set, followed by Garza and Lockley who averaged 2.56 and 2.07 digs per set respectively.
In the 2016 Preseason polls, the Cardinals are picked to finish 11th in the Southland Conference coaches' poll and 12th in the Sports Information Directors' poll, while Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi are the two favorites to win the conference.
Going into the Hurricane Classic, it will also be the start of the 2016 campaign for all three of the Cardinals opponents. The University of Tulsa finished last season with a 15-17 overall record and the Hurricanes went 10-10 in American Athletic Conference. They return outside hitter Erica Bohannon who averaged 4.06 kills per set to lead the team.
Last season, South Dakota finished with a 15-16 record and they finished 8-8 in the Summit League. The Coyotes return their top attacking threat, Audrey Reeg, who averaged 3.64 kills per set last season.
The Alabama Crimson Tide finished the 2015 campaign with a 17-15 overall record and they went 11-7 in Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson Tide return Krystal Rivers who led the team with 4.18 kills per set.
Live Stats will be available for all tournament games by clicking here. For more information on the volleyball team, follow them on twitter @UIWVolleyball and visit the Cardinals website at www.uiwcardinals.com
