SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team continues its march toward postseason play as they welcome Houston Baptist to the McDermott Center on Thursday evening for a 7:00 p.m. (CT) first serve.
This is the second meeting between the UIW and HBU. The Huskies won in Houston, 3-2, last month (Oct. 6).
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Stats
LAST TIME OUT
- UIW relied on depth scoring Tuesday against Texas Southern on its way to a 3-0 sweep.
- Freshman outside hitter Emily Perez hit a season high 12 kills to lead the team. It is the first double-digit kill performance of her collegiate career.
- Junior outside hitter Emily Waller put together another quality performance, posting eight kills and seven digs on .438 hitting.
- Freshman setter Kendall Kilchrist led the team in attack percentage. She hit .600 off three kills while also collecting a team-high 25 assists.
- Madelynn Miller posted double-digit kills for the eighth consecutive match. She finished tonight with 14.
- Freshman outside hitter Chloe Patton put her athletic prowess on full display, reaching 11 digs, seven kills and a block in the victory.
- Sophomore middle blocker Imani Stewart led the team with two blocks.
- This was the fourth sweep of the season for UIW and fifth win in its last six matches.
LAST TIME vs. HBU
- UIW set a then-team high with 11 blocks.
- Senior outside hitter Maddie Slaughter played a major part in that, earning a career-high seven blocks.
- Miller set a new career high with 39 digs.
- Kilchrist finished with 40 assists. This was a new season-high, surpassing her previous best, 39 set at SLU (9/22).
- Freshman outside hitter Bethany Clapp finished with 13 kills to extend her double-digit kill streak to nine consecutive matches.
- Sophomore outside hitter Julia Monday contributed 12 kills in the loss. It was her fifth match this season with 10+ kills.
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 538 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). This is 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 382 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).
CONFERENCE OUTLOOK
- UIW sits at No. 9 (6-8) in the conference heading into the weekend, tied with New Orleans (6-8) for the eighth and final spot in the conference tournament.
- Only the top eight teams in the conference qualify for the SLC Tournament in Natchitoches, La. next month (Nov. 15-18).
- UIW has two conference games remaining, both against teams that UIW can jump in the standings with a win: HBU (Thursday) and Texas A&M - Corpus Christi (Saturday)
SCOUTING HBU
- The Huskies enter play having also won five of their last six. They defeated A&M-CC, 3-1, in their last match to bolster their own postseason chances.
- This is the final match of the season for HBU. They can clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a win.
- They are led by the most prolific scorer in the conference, Mikayla Vivens. She has 397 kills to lead the team, and the conference.
- UIW leads the all-time series 15-14, despite falling in five sets earlier this season.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday (12 p.m.) with a chance to secure their first SLC tournament berth in program history. Saturday is also Senior Day at the McDermott Center. UIW volleyball will honor
Maddie Slaughter for her contributions to the program.
