HOUSTON -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team will play in its final road match of the season when it travels to Houston to face Texas Southern on Tuesday night at 6:00 p.n. C.T.
 
This is the third match over the last five days for UIW. The Cardinals are 2-0 in this stretch and have won four of their last five matches overall.

LAST TIME OUT

• UIW defeated McNeese, 3-2, on Saturday morning in San Antonio.
• Sophomore outside hitter Julia Monday led the team, for the second consecutive match, with 16 kills. Her .361 attack percentage was the best among both teams from an attacker with more than five attempts.
• Freshman Bethany Clapp secured her sixth double-double of the season, and fourth in her last five matches (15 kills, 14 digs).
• Junior middle blocker Allison Waits made a huge contribution in her first start of the season, posting a career-high 12 kills and a pair of blocks.
• Senior middle blocker Maddie Slaughter posted seven kills and finished tied for the team lead with three blocks.
• Freshman middle blocker Carissa McGarity played in only two sets, but also managed to block three McNeese attacks.
• Freshman setter Pilar Gonzaba shared duties with fellow freshman Kendall Kilchrist. The duo finished with 45 assists between them, with Gonzaba leading the way with 25.
• Junior right side hitter Cameron Taylor led the team with three aces. She now owns 13 aces this season.
• Sophomore libero Madelynn Miller led the team on defense with 16 digs. She has recorded 10-or-more digs in each of her last eight matches.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Alyssa Carlin delivered 13 digs for the defense as well.

 
 
STORYLINES

• The Cardinal freshmen have asserted themselves as one of the top all-around freshman classes in the conference.
• Clapp leads the team with 294 kills, including 201 in SLC matches. Her 3.38 kills per set is the best among freshman in the conference, fourth 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 and the fourth most efficient match in all of Division 1 (minimum of 15 attempts).
• Clapp is now just 13 kills away from setting the Division I program record for kills by a freshman.
• Gonzaba leads the way with 524 assists this season. She already holds the UIW DI record for most assists by a freshman in a single season – previously held by Madison Williams (402) set in 2014.
• 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.
• On the year, Gonzaba sits second best among freshmen in the conference, and eighth best overall, with 7.18 assists per set.
• McGarity leads the team with 77.0 blocks this year, just 10 away from tying the UIW freshman DI record.
• Monday leads the team in hitting percentage (.246). One of the top rates in the conference.
• As a team, UIW runs the third most efficient offense in the conference (.199 attack percentage).
• Miller leads the team with 368 digs. She stands fourth in the conference in digs per set, averaging 4.49.
• Slaughter has been making the most of her senior season. She has posted career highs in kills (120), blocks (45.0) and digs (30).
• Taylor has made the most of her opportunity in the starting lineup and is proving to be a formidable weapon on the right side. She has earned 19 kills, eight aces, 16 digs and five blocks in her last three starts.

 
 
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK

• UIW sits at No. 9 (6-8) in the conference heading into the final week of the season. The Cardinals postseason chances will not be affected by the result of Tuesday's match against Texas Southern as the Lady Tigers are non-conference opponents.
• Only the top eight teams in the conference qualify for the SLC Tournament in Natchitoches, La. next week (Nov. 15-18).
• UIW has two conference games remaining, both against teams just one win ahead of UIW in the conference standings (HBU and A&M-CC).

SCOUTING TEXAS SOUTHERN

• The Lady Tigers are 10-20 this season, 9-9 in SWAC play.
• This will be their final regular season game of the 2018 season.
• TSU is paced offensively by Eboni Mitchell (248 kills). The Lady Tiger middle blocker, Kirby Anderson is averaging 1.04 blocks per set, a team-best.
• UIW leads the all-time series, 5-2, although the teams split the only two recent matches in the series (Nov. 9, 2016 and Nov. 16, 2017).

 
UP NEXT
The Cardinals jump back into a heated conference race as the SLC season has reached its final week. UIW will host HBU on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (CT) with an opportunity to clinch its first-ever SLC tournament berth. The Cardinals will then host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday (12:00 p.m.). It will be senior night at the McDermott Center. UIW Volleyball will honor Maddie Slaughter for contributions to the program.

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