LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team begin its penultimate road trip with a three-match stretch through Louisiana, starting with a Tuesday night match against the McNeese State Cowgirls (6:30 p.m. CT first serve). This begins a stretch of critical contests for UIW in its quest to qualify for the Southland Conference tournament in mid-November.


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LAST TIME OUT

• UIW fell in three sets to Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.
• Junior right-side hitter Allison Waits hit a career-best (when attempting multiple attacks) .714 attacking percentage on the day.
• She matched her career high with five kills, originally set vs Prairie View A&M (9/28/16).
• Sophomore outside hitter Julia Monday led the team in kills for the second consecutive match. She finished with eight.
• With that performance, Monday set a new career high for kills in a single season (148), outdoing her freshman year total of 143.
• Sophomore libero Madelynn Miller finished with 10 digs, marking her third consecutive match with double-digit digs.
• Senior middle blocker Maddie Slaughter led the team with three blocks, including one solo block. She also contributed four kills.
• Freshman setter Pilar Gonzaba finished with 15 assists, while fellow freshman setter Kendall Kilchrist put up 10.

 
STORYLINES

• The Cardinal freshmen have asserted themselves as one of the top all-around freshman classes in the conference.
• Freshman outside hitter Bethany Clapp has established herself as a premier offensive weapon on the outside. She leads the team with 205 kills, including 112 in SLC matches. Her 3.15 kills per set is the best among freshman in the conference, and sixth best overall.
• She posted an .824 hitting percentage in UIW's victory over Alcorn State (9/15), the best attacking percentage for a single match in the conference (minimum of 12 kills).
• Clapp has now become the first freshman to eclipse 200 kills in her debut season since 2015, and just the fourth freshman to do so since moving to DI in 2013.
• Freshman middle blocker Carissa McGarity sits among the top freshmen in the SLC with 0.91 blocks per set played. She also leads the team with 62.0 blocks this year.
• Gonzaba has eclipsed the 300-assist plateau this season. She has delivered 30+ assistsin five of her last eight matches.
• She now owns 395 assists this season, seven away from tying the UIW DI record for most assists by a freshman in a single season -- held by Madison Williams (402) set in the 2014 season.
• Her 42-assist performance in UIW's 3-0 win over SHSU (Sept. 27) stands as the most assists by anyone in the SLC over the course of a 3-set match. Her 54-assist match against Abilene Christian (Sept. 29) is the fifth most assists in a single match in the conference this season.
• On the year, Gonzaba sits second best among freshmen in the conference, and seventh best overall, with 7.60 assists per set.
• Miller leads the team with 274 digs. She stands third in the conference in digs per set, averaging 4.57.
• Slaughter has been making the most of her senior season. She has posted careerhighs in kills (93) and digs (21) while matching her career high in blocks (26.0).

 
CARDINALS IN CONFERENCE

• UIW has a 2-7 SLC record.
• Miller leads the SLC with 168 digs. She ranks third in the conference in digs per set, averaging 4.80.
• Clapp is second in the conference in total kills (112), the most kills by a freshman in conference play by a wide margin.
• She is also the top freshman in the conference, and seventh best student-athlete overall, in kills per set (3.29).
• The Corpus Christi native holds two double-doubles in conference play (@ SLU, Sept. 22 and vs ACU, Sept. 29).
• Gonzaba owns 236 assists and averages 9.08 assists per set in conference play. That's the seventh best average in the conference and the best among qualifying freshman setters.
• McGarity is tied for third in the conference with 33 blocks. She averages .94 blocks per set in SLC matches, the second-best average among SLC freshman 

SCOUTING MCNEESE

• The Cowgirls (6-16, 4-3) enter the match with an unblemished 4-0 record at home this season.
• After starting the season 1-15, McNeese has won five of its last six matches, including four SLC victories.
• They have employed a balanced offensive attack in conference play, with five different players registering 50+ kills thus far.
• UIW leads the all-time series 4-3. The last time the Cardinals won in Lake Charles was by a final score of 3-1 on Oct. 12, 2014.

 
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will enjoy a nine-day break before traveling back to Louisiana to face Nicholls for a Thursday night tilt on Oct. 25. First serve for that contest is set for 6:30 p.m. They follow that with a Saturday afternoon matchup against New Orleans at 1 p.m. (Oct. 27).

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