| SPORTS
| November 5, 2004
Volleyball
Mavs push for victory over SFA
This weekend’s match against
SFA could decide UTA’s conference standing.
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Sophomore setter Ashley Smith dives
for a ball Thursday during practice in Texas Hall. The
Mavericks will compete at Stephen F. Austin today for
a conference game against the Ladyjacks. |
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By Kevin
Bueker
Contributor to The Shorthorn
When the Mavericks volleyball team takes on Stephen F. Austin tonight
in Nacogdoches, something has to give.
The Mavs have won 16 consecutive games, while the Ladyjacks’
streak has run to 13.
“We’re going to go in there and sweep them like we’ve
swept the last five teams we’ve played. I know we’re
the stronger team,” libero Ashley Smith said. “Our team
works harder in the gym than any other team in our conference.”
Stephen F. Austin, in the midst of a 12-match winning streak, has
swept four straight conference opponents. On Oct. 28, the Ladyjacks
pulled into the conference race by beating Texas State, ending the
Bobcats’ 14-match winning streak.
With the conference tournament two weeks away, the battle at the
top is close. The Mavs are 13-3, while Texas State and Stephen F.
Austin both sit at second with a 12-3 record.
“All three of us are playing our best volleyball of the year,”
interim head coach Diane Seymour said.
Stephen F. Austin, ranked No. 15 on the American Volleyball Coaches
Association central region poll, has not lost since UTA defeated
them in five games in Texas Hall Oct. 1.
“Last time, I don’t think we played that well —
either one of us. That’s why the games were so close. I think
each of us is capable of putting together a good game and getting
on a run,” Seymour said.
In that last meeting, the first four games were decided by two points.
In the fifth game, Seymour adjusted her lineup to create a match-up
problem for Stephen F. Austin, which fell 15-9.
“Our outside hitters are just a little bit better than theirs.
Our middle blockers match up perfectly with them, and I think we
have the setting advantage with Heather Dunn,” Seymour said.
Outside hitter Ashley Van Antwerp led the Mavs with a career-high
24 kills in the last match. Defensively, the Mavs had five players
with at least 15 digs each, but Ladyjacks libero Stephanie Figgers
came up with 31 digs. The Mavs expect more of the same from Figgers,
the Oct. 25 conference defensive player of the week.
“You can’t do anything about Stephanie Figgers, she’s
just an all-around good defensive player,” Smith said. “The
only thing is to try and keep the ball away from her as much as
possible.”
To counter any potential travel lag, the Mavs left Thursday to get
an extra day of rest before the match. If they lose to Stephen F.
Austin this weekend, the Mavs would drop to third place in conference,
losing a shot at a first-round bye in the postseason tournament.
“This game is very important, but we can’t just win
this game and say we’ve got it from here on out,” Smith
said. “We’ve got some very tough opponents coming up
with [UT-San Antonio] on Tuesday and Nicholls on Friday.”
The Mavs would like to start that stretch with a win tonight and
leave nothing to chance.
“We can take any team in three if we play our top game, but
it’s always hard to get going on the road,” middle blocker
Caley Smith said. “But if we can do it at Texas State, I’m
sure we can do it at SFA.”
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