Rolla, Mo. – The Missouri S&T women's volleyball team will open its 2018 season this weekend (Aug. 24-25) as the Miners participate in the Lindenwood Invitational at LU's Robert F. Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo. S&T's will play twice each day in the two-day tourney with Urbana (Ohio), Southern Nazarene, Chadron State, and host Lindenwood providing the opposition.
2018 Record: S&T is currently 0-0 overall and 0-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) to date.
S&T Head Coach –
Andy Halaz (Rockhurst, 2008), 1st season, 0-0 (.000). Halaz is presently in his first season at S&T and began his current duties on Jan. 28 after serving as the director of marketing and was the outdoor director for High Performance STL Volleyball Club in St. Louis, Mo., since 2014. He coached one of the High Performance STL Volleyball Club's top teams while organizing the outdoor training program. Halaz was the lead court trainer and summer camp coordinator at Georgetown from 2009-14 after spending two seasons (2008 and 2009) at Saint Louis where he was an assistant coach and the director of volleyball operations. During his time at SLU, the Billikens won at least a share of the Atlantic 10 Conference regular season championship and were NCAA Division I Tournament participants, including making a second-round appearance in 2008. Halaz also served as an assistant coach at Rockhurst for four seasons (2004-07) and helped the Hawks to four consecutive NCAA Division II Tourney appearances.
This Week's Opponents
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Urbana: The Blue Knights, under first-year head coach Kara Hellmann, were selected to finish sixth in the 2018 Mountain East Conference (MEC) Coaches Preseason Poll. A season ago, UU registered a 19-17 overall record with a 10-6 mark in the MEC.
All-Time Series – First Meeting.
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Southern Nazarene: SNU was chosen fifth in the 2018 Great American Conference (GAC) Coaches Preseason Poll and is coached by Kevin Ingram, who embarks on his 18th season this fall. The Crimson Storm finished 2017 at 15-18 overall and 9-7 in the GAC.
All-Time Series – S&T leads 1-0; Last Meeting – W 3-0 (9/5/15 @ Austin, Texas).
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Chadron State: The Eagles, who compiled a 10-17 record overall and were 7-11 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) last season, are directed by third-year head coach Riann Mullis. CSU was picked 12th in the 2018 GMAC Coaches Preseason Poll.
All-Time Series – First Meeting.
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Lindenwood: LU was tabbed seventh in the 2018 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). The Lions, who are coached by second-year head coach Will Condon, compiled a 20-13 overall record and an 11-7 MIAA mark a season ago.
All-Time Series – S&T leads 3-0; Last Meeting – L 3-0 (10/10/17 at home).
All-Time Record: The 2018 campaign represents S&T's 12th season of intercollegiate women's volleyball competition since the program's inception in 2007. The Miners have accumulated a 153-203 record (.429) to date. S&T has produced three 20 or more victories in a season – 24-10 in 2011, 22-11 in 2015, and 20-13 in 2012.
Season Openers: S&T is 3-8 in season openers dating back to 2007, which includes a 1-4 record in its last five such outings. Last season (9/1), the Miners dropped a 3-0 season-opening decision to Barry (Fla.) at the Bahama House Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. S&T's last season-opening win occurred in the 2015 season (9/4) when the Miners claimed a 3-1 win over Franklin Pierce (N.H.) at the St. Edward's Hilltopper Classic in Austin, Texas.
Miner Notes: Senior outside hitter
Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) has posted a school all-time sixth-most 896 kills in 85 matches and is 57 shy of tying Hayley Wright (953 kills; 2010-13) for fifth place…Senior middle hitter
Carson Talley's (St. Louis, Mo./Affton) 115 block assists is one shy of equaling Erin Bekebrede's (2008-11) 10th-place 116 career total…Junior defensive specialist-libero
Corinne Stulce (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne) is only 12 digs away from moving into an 11th-place tie with
Caitlin Brocker (Crystal Lake, Ill./Marian Central) (838 digs, 2013-16) on S&T's career digs leaders list. Stulce, who totaled a program single-season eighth-most 458 digs in 31 outings last season, needs 174 more digs to reach the 1,000-career plateau and would become sixth Miner to reach the milestone…S&T's 2017 top two kills leaders,
Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) (268) and junior outside hitter
Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) (230) both return this fall and the duo combined to account for 35.4 percent (498-1,407) of the squad's output…
Carson Talley (St. Louis, Mo./Affton) is three block solos shy of tying Julie Meyer (27 block solos; 2008-12) for sixth place on the Miners' all-time block solos leaders list.
2018 GLVC Volleyball Preseason Poll: S&T was selected to finish 12th n the
2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Coaches Preseason Poll as the Miners received 55 points. Lewis was chosen as the conference's preseason favorite with 180 points and 11 first-place votes. Rockhurst picked up the other three first-place votes to go with a second-most 171 points. Rounding out the top five were Illinois Springfield (149 pts.), McKendree (128 pts.), and Bellarmine (125 pts.). Truman State (121 pts.) placed sixth proceeded by Missouri-St. Louis (115 pts.), and Indianapolis (105 pts.). Drury (99 pts.) and Southern Indiana (72 pts.) garnered ninth and 10th place, respectively. Quincy (62 pts.) finished in 11th place while Missouri S&T was 12th. The final two placings in the 14-team league poll were occupied by William Jewell (48 pts.) and Maryville (26 pts.).
2018 S&T Roster: Missouri S&T's 2018 active roster consists of three seniors, four juniors and sophomores apiece, and five freshmen. Six of the 16 student-athletes play either the outside or right-side hitter position while four others are middle hitters, three setters, two defensive specialists, and one libero. Eight individuals hail from the state of Missouri and two from Kansas.
2018 S&T Captains: Serving as S&T's captains for the 2018 season are
Carson Talley (St. Louis, Mo./Affton) and
Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston).
What Returns For 2018: Below is a look at the 2017 statistical totals of the returnees and what percentage of the team totals they accounted for:
2017 Total 2018 Returning %Returning
Kills 1,407 1,006 71.5
Aces 72 45 62.5
Digs 1,981 1,431 72.2
Blocks 189.0 162.0 85.7
2017 Record: S&T concluded the 2017 season with a 10-21 overall record, which included a fifth-place 3-15 GLVC West Division mark.
Follow The GLVC: Fans can follow @GLVCsports on
Twitter,
Instagram, and
Facebook using hashtag #GLVCvb. Complete coverage of all conference matches throughout the 2018 season can be accessed on
GLVCSN.com.
Up Next: Missouri S&T will be participating in the 11th annual Nova Southeastern Sharks Invitational next weekend, Aug. 31-Sept. 1, at NSU's Rick Case Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. S&T will play a total of four matches in the two-day tournament with contests versus Babson (Fla.), Nova Southeastern, Texas A&M International, and Lynn (Fla.).
