MISSOURI S&T VOLLEYBALL MATCH DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Fri., Sept. 28	Illinois Springfield	7 p.m.	Springfield, Ill.	GLVC Network	Live Stats
Sat., Sept. 29	McKendree	3 p.m.	Lebanon, Ill.	GLVC Network	Live Stats
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2018 Record: S&T stands at 10-5 overall and 3-3 in the GLVC to date after splitting a pair of home conference matches this past weekend (Sept. 21-22) at Gibson Arena in Rolla, Mo.  The Miners, who are presently 3-2 on the road, 2-2 at home, and 5-1 in neutral site matches this campaign, won for the third time in their last five outings as a result of capturing a 3-0 league decision over Indianapolis last Saturday (Sept. 22).  S&T dropped a 3-0 conference encounter to nationally-ranked Lewis this past Friday (Sept. 21).  S&T's 10-5 season ledger represents the program's best season-opening start since 2015 when the Miners also tallied a 10-5 mark en route to finishing the campaign at 22-11 overall and 13-5 in the GLVC.    
 
S&T Head Coach – Andy Halaz (Rockhurst, 2008), 1st season, 10-5 (.667).  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
     *Illinois Springfield: The Prairie Stars, who are 11-4 overall and 5-1 in the GLVC this season, won for the seventh time in their last eight outings while extending their current winning streak to three with a 3-0 league home win over Maryville last Saturday (Sept. 22) at UIS's The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) in Springfield, Ill.  UIS, who's coached by fourth-year head coach Trey Salinas, is presently 7-2 at home, 2-2 on the road, and 2-0 at neutral sites this season.  The Prairie Stars tallied a 3-1 home decision over Missouri-St. Louis last Friday (Sept. 21) in GLVC match play.  A season ago, UIS registered a 22-11 overall record and was 12-6 in GLVC play.  All-Time Series – S&T leads 10-2 -- 5-0 Home, 5-2 Away, 0-0 Neutral; Last Meeting - L 3-0 (10/21/17 at Illinois Springfield).
     *McKendree: The Bearcats have currently compiled a 8-7 record overall and are 4-2 in the GLVC this season following a 3-2 league home win over Missouri-St. Louis this last Saturday (Sept. 22) at MU's Harry M. Statham Sports Center in Lebanon, Ill.  MU, which is directed by fifth-year head coach Nickie Sanlin and has won four of its last five contests to date, recorded a 3-0 conference home decision against Maryville this past Friday (Sept. 21).  The Bearcats, who are 3-1 at home, 1-2 on the road, and 4-4 at neutral sites this season, host Drury this Friday (Sept. 28) before entertaining Missouri S&T on Saturday (Sept. 29).  Last season, McKendree registered a 23-9 overall record and was 16-2 in the GLVC to go along with a NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament appearance.   All-Time Series – S&T trails 5-2 -- 1-3 Home, 1-2 Away, 0-0 Neutral; Last Meeting - L 3-2 (9/22/17 at Missouri S&T).
   
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 163-208 record (.439 ) 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.  
  
Miner Notes: Junior defensive specialist-libero Corinne Stulce (St. Charles, Mo./Duchesne), who has presently accumulated 1,100 career digs in 67 matches, is 92 digs shy of moving into a fourth-place tie with Jocelyn DeMotte (1,192 kills; 2011-12) and Jennifer Kegler (1,192 kills; 2008-12) on S&T's all-time kills leaders list ... Junior outside hitter Emilee Schlader (Lewiston, Idaho/Lewiston) extended her current eight double-figure kills streak to eight straight with 16 kills versus Indianapolis last Saturday (9/22).  Schlader, who has totaled 12 double-digit kills match performances this fall, is averaging 15.8 kills an outing (126 total) during the eight-match stretch ... Senior outside hitter Carlie Combs (O'Fallon, Mo./St. Dominic) is only 27 kills away from tying Julie Meyer (1,088 kills; 2008-12) for third place on the Miners' career kills best chart.  Combs has currently amassed 1,061 career kills in 98 appearances ... Junior defensive specialist-libero Eva Mich's (St. Peters, Mo./Francis Howell Central) 10 service aces in 15 contests this season represents a personal career single-season high, surpassing her six aces in 29 encounters a season ago.  In her initial two seasons (2016-17) at S&T, Mich served up a combined 10 aces in 58 matches ... Redshirt sophomore setter Sarah McGinnis (Middleton, Wis./Edgewood) has currently produced a personal career-best 12 saves in 15 contests this campaign, which is one more than her previous high 11 aces a season ago in 27 outings.            
 
2018 GLVC Volleyball Preseason Poll: S&T was picked 12th in 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.  
  
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.

GLVC Standings/Schedule/Statistics: Fans can view the complete 2018 GLVC Standings at this link - GLVC Standings.  The composite 2018 conference women's volleyball schedule can be accessed at this link - GLVC Schedule and the GLVC women's volleyball statistics at this link - GLVC Statistics. 

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.

NCAA II Statistics:  Both the NCAA Division II 2018 team and individual national statistical leaders is available at this link - NCAA Statistics.

AVCA Poll : The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches 2018 Top 25 Poll is available at this link - AVCA D2 Coaches Top 25 Poll.

Up Next: The Miners travel to Springfield, Mo., Tuesday, Oct. 2, to face the Drury Panthers in a 7 p.m. (CT) conference contest at DU's O'Reilly Family Event Center.  S&T then returns home next weekend, Oct. 5-6, for a pair of league matches at Gibson Arena in Rolla, Mo.  The Miners host the Maryville Saints, on Friday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m. (CT) and square off against the Missouri-St. Louis Tritons Saturday, Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. (CT).