6th Annual SFA Volleyblog.net All Conference Teams

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REMINDER:  SFA VolleyBlog Radio will broadcast the entire 2014 Southland Conference Tournament starting Friday at 11 AM.  Just click on the radio button above and you're all set!!

Well, for the 6th time, here we go.  This is my list for All-Conference performances in 2014. In case you are reading this after 11/20/14,  please note that this list was released well before the official conference announcement which will come on Wednesday, November 19.

Like in previous years, I suspect I will periodically comment on this article over the next week.  I will indicate updates at the bottom of the post with boldface time stamps.  For now, I will repeat a few phrases from years gone by about my selection process:

Recall,  I actually pick "teams". The conference does not do this. Typically, the conference puts 12 girls on the first team, six girls on the 2nd team and has 6 to 9 girls listed as honorable mention for a total of 24 to 27 girls recognized. I will have three teams of seven for 21 girls honored and then a list of the players I considered for the lists and "just missed".

As I have said each of the last five years: "There are seven starters each night for any particular team, so we will pick seven girls per team. Each team is required to have a a setter, libero, two middle blockers, two hitters and a seventh player that can either be MB or OH."

2014 SFA VolleyBlog.net All-Southland Conference Teams and Awards:

First Team:

OH Devaney Wells-Gibson, Sam Houston
OH Heather Schnars, Central Arkansas
RS  Jill Ivy, Stephen F. Austin
MB Jacque Allen, Stephen F. Austin
MB Chelsea Grant, Lamar
S Kayla Armer, Houston Baptist
L OJ Olson, Stephen F. Austin

Second Team:

OH Jessica Wooten, Houston Baptist
RS Briana Brink, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
OH Kaci Eaton, Nicholls
MB Glynna Johnson, Northwestern State
MB Justice Walker, Stephen F. Austin
S Michelle Griffith, Sam Houston State
L Kalynn Egea, Nicholls

Third Team:

OH Evie Singleton, Central Arkansas
RS Mackenzie Neely, Northwestern State
UTIL Ivy Baresh, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
MB Cortney Moore, Lamar
MB Allison Doerpinghaus, Houston Baptist
S Paige Holland, Stephen F. Austin
L Morgan Todd, Southeastern Louisiana

Just Missed (in order of position played):  OH Jennifer Loerch, ACU, OH Ashley Phelps, TAMUCC, OH Angelique Vidaurri, UIW, L Bailey Martin, Northwestern State, S Kristyn Nicholson, TAMUCC, MB Lexi Mercier, ACU, MB Rachel Cagnina, McNeese, MB Brittany Gilpin, TAMUCC, UTIL Stacey DiFrancesco, NSU.

(FWIW, the two that were toughest to leave off were Loerch and Martin)

Player of the Year:  Devaney Wells-Gibson, Sam Houston
Setter of the Year:  Kayla Armer, Houston Baptist
Libero of the Year:  OJ Olson, Stephen F. Austin
Newcomer of the Year: Kaci Eaton, Nicholls
Freshman of the Year:  Kristyn Nicholson, TAMUCC
Coach of the Year:  Debbie Humphreys, Stephen F. Austin

Player of the Year Discussion:
I think there are three strong candidates for this award:  Wells-Gibson, Schnars and Ivy.  Don't get me wrong, I would love for Jill Ivy to win for obvious reasons.  However, I think all things considered, Wells-Gibson should get it.  If Ivy wins it, then I will be elated.  If Schnars wins it, then that is a great choice - no problem with that at all.  She's a beast.  To be perfectly honest, knowing how voters have typically voted, I would be willing to bet that Schnars actually wins it because of the high attack percentage numbers.  Schnars hit .300, Ivy hit .263 and Wells-Gibson hit .203.  Let me ask you something?  Shouldn't serve errors count, too?  If you are willing to indulge-

Here is my assessment of the three:

1) Statistical Argument:
Wells-Gibson had 520 kills, 41 aces, 9 block solos, 25 block assists for 582.5 points
She had 233 attack errors, 39 service errors, 22 return errors, 1 block error and 3 ball handling errors for 298 points against.  That's a net positive 284.5 across 108 sets for a 2.63 NET avg.

Schnars had 425 kills, 36 aces, 13 block solos, 19 block assists for 483.5 points
She had 121 attack errors, 85 service errors, 29 return errors, and 1 ball handling error for 236 points against.  That's a net positive 247.5 across 101 sets for a 2.45 NET avg.

Ivy had 386 kills, 30 aces, 6 block solos, 70 block assists for 439 points
She had 126 errors, 18 service errors, 10 return errors and four blocking errors for 158 points against.  That's a net positive of 281 points across 104 sets for a 2.70 NET avg.

But, we haven't factored in digs.  Which is important since all three of these girls play all the way around.  Wells-Gibson had 2.85 digs per set compared to 2.09 digs per set for Schnars and 2.06 for Ivy.  To me, statistically, this pushes Wells-Gibson back out front.  Finally, in terms of serve return, Sam Houston seems perfectly comfortable with Wells-Gibson in return.  Central Arkansas appears not to mind Schnars in return, but would prefer Berringer/Hunt, I'd think.  Go look at the the total return numbers.  Wells-Gibson received almost as many serves as the SHSU libero and over 200 more than Schnars.  SFA is OK with Ivy in return, but since this is Ivy's first and only complete six-rotation year, they'd prefer Olson/Martin to take serves.

So, I am not trying to argue against our own player - and not really against Schnars either, but I just think when you consider all the statistics that you have available for 2014, Wells-Gibson wins out.

2) Eye Ball Test Argument
Statisticians don't like these type of touchy-feely ways of arguing, but I think many people vote more from instinct than stats, so here goes:  If you were drafting a Southland Conference Fantasy Volleyball team and you had first pick, who would you take?  My eyes tell me Wells-Gibson.  She's the better athlete, more smooth, can score from anywhere and is the one person I'd want to swing with the game on the line.  Again, this takes NOTHING away from Schnars and Ivy.  Schnars can also score at will from all over the court.  Ivy hits the ball as hard as anyone in the conference, but Wells-Gibson has the all-around game and athleticism edge ever so slightly.

Setter/Freshman Discussion:
Oh man, did I debate this.  I even took my lament to Facebook a few days ago:

Greg Miller

November 12 at 11:30pm ·

Setters. Why is it so hard to rank setters? Armer? Griffith? Holland? Where is Marissa Collins when you need her?

Actually, Collins is in Sweden playing professionally, but that's not the point.  I probably had these three setters in every possible order on my "ballot" at some point in the last week.  Just recently, I wrote a post that said Holland has every right to win this award.  Armer didn't play all that well against us so I still had a little negative vibe there.  In the end, I leaned a little more toward my own style of setter with the pick.  I won't rehash all that in this space, but you can read previous articles where I had stated my preference for setters that are in Armer's mold.  It could go a number of ways, but Kayla Armer is really good and I've believed that for two years now.  She just got overshadowed by all the senior studs last year.

Ashley Ellis of Lamar put up some good numbers, but I'll decline to comment in writing about why I didn't put her on the list.  Nicholson at TAMUCC was close too, and of course, you see I took her at Freshman of the Year.  Which by the way, I think the Freshman has to be Nicholson or Gilpin of TAMUCC.  I went with Nicholson over Gilpin purely because of her position and how much responsibility it was to coordinate an offense with senior players like Brink and Phelps and also have to mesh new players like Gilpin and Felux.

I always get both praise and criticism for these lists and that is perfectly fine.  I've been told that my lists make more sense than any other and I've been told I am on "crack".   I can take it, it comes with the territory of player evaluation.

Comment away below if you'd like.  And AS ALWAYS, if you see me at the conference tournament - which if you are there - you will, because I will be all over the place doing radio and interviews and posting stuff like crazy, then please, strike up a conversation.  I love to talk volleyball and will certainly respect good counterpoints.

Can't wait for the official lists on Wednesday!  I also can hardly wait to get to Natchitoches on Friday!

Update:  Wednesday, 11/19 9 PM
The official all-conference teams got announced this afternoon and overall I think the lists are a very good representation of the players that deserve accolades.  If you factor in my decision to place three hitters, two blockers, a setter and a libero on each team, then my list and the official one show a large amount of agreement.  For instance, Singleton of UCA officially made the first team, but since she was the 7th hitter on the list, using my system she comes in at 3rd team - which is exactly where I placed her.  Of the 18 girls officially on the first and second teams, 17 of them appear on my teams.

These are my main observations of the official lists:

• As said earlier, although Holland, Armer and Griffith play for teams with different styles and have different styles themselves,  I didn't see a huge gap between the three.  At least one rough draft of my lists had Holland first and Armer third.  I'm beyond thrilled that Paige got Setter of the Year.  I think there are several deserving setters and clearly I like Armer just a bit more than the official voters.
• Texas A&M Corpus-Christi is under represented.
• There is still too much "team bias".  For some reason, official voters repeatedly ignore strong performances by players on teams that finish in the middle or lower end of the standings. This is terribly unfortunate.  Team awards are called standings, trophies, championships and seeds.  It is an absolute crime that a player can finish third in the nation in a major statistical category and then finish fourth in the league voting at her position.  When stuff like that happens, it makes the conference look silly.
• Schnars is an excellent choice for POY.  She would have had my #2 vote if submitting a list of 18 as the voters do.  Doerpinghaus was my #2 choice at Newcomer, so both of those awards are nice picks.  I am a huge Heather Schnars fan, so that honor is pleasant to see although I would have loved to have seen Jill Ivy win.  See the Wells-Gibson, Schnars, Ivy breakdown in the original post for my reasoning.
• I am so happy for SFA Volleyball.  It is so awesome to see all those names.  Ivy, Allen, Walker, Holland, Olson, Humphreys all obtaining recognition is great visibility for our program.

• The Southland Conference has four liberos that finished in the Top 50 in the nation in digs per set.  None of these girls won Libero of the Year.  You MIGHT could explain away one or two of those performances based on intangibles, non-statistical arguments, the eye-ball test, etc, etc.  But you will NOT convince me that ALL FOUR of those girls can be passed over for those reasons.  You will not convince me that a player that had more than 100 less digs than the conference leader and finished 7th in conference play in digs per set has strong enough non-statistical evidence in her favor to leapfrog FOUR PLAYERS for the highest honor at the position. 

But I don't blame the voters for this misstep. I blame the system.  When coaches submit their own rankings of five players it stacks the deck for others to play with.  I have said, many, many times that if we are to truly take lists like this seriously, then the population to choose from for all awards should be the entire rosters of every team.  Coaches SHOULD NOT prioritize their players for league use.  We should not try to make All-Conference voting easier for the voters. The impact a player has made on the league or their program in past years should have NO BEARING on voting in the present year.  The list clearly has the label "2014" at the top of it.

I'm pleased Nicholson won the Freshman of the Year, but the current rules prevent TAMUCC from submitting multiple names of freshmen.  This creates bias against teams that have multiple freshmen that are under consideration.  Let the league decide by an open vote.  Don't give a program the power to filter the list of candidates.

Finally, I actually chuckled out loud when I noticed that the 2nd "TEAM" All-Conference list is made up of three blockers, two liberos and a hitter. If you want to honor the league's choice of the top 18 players, then just call the list "2014 All Conference Selections".  But to call three blockers, two liberos and one outside hitter a "team" isn't just small differences in preferred semantics - it's goofy.

#FreeEgea  #FreeOlson

SFA: #1 in Nation in a Serving Category

This post is an investigation into serving statistics during the 2014 regular season for all Southland Conference teams.  We'll look at both the best individual servers as well as team serving in this statistically minded post.

I discovered something amazing.  SFA has the best ratio of service aces to service errors in the nation as of this writing.  I discovered this by pure coincidence.  Here is how all this went down:  

I have been thinking about serving efficiency ever since I began teaching the 7-year olds on my city league youth team how to serve.  The games at this age can be won by teams that simply don't error while serving since there are so few rallies.  At about the same time I realized this, I travelled to Natchitoches to cover the UCA/NSU match.  I have long questioned the overall effectiveness of aggressive jump serves when they lead to a lot of errors and that night I watched UCA pound a lot of balls into the net or out of bounds on serves.  So, I got the idea to look at all the servers in the conference and look specifically at their ratio of aces to service errors.

I actually have had this idea before, but never really studied it in depth.  While researching individual service patterns in the conference, I noticed SFA had more aces than errors and I thought this was rare.  The average ace to error ratio in the Southland this year was right at 0.66 (think of this as 2/3). So, for every two aces you see in a Southland contest, those two aces will be countered by three service errors on average.  SFA's ace to error ratio is 1.26.  A little quick statistical work showed that this is over 2.5 standard deviations above average, a value which in bell-shaped data should occur only 1/2 of 1% of the time. Now, there are 334 DI Volleyball programs and 1/2 of 1% of the number 334 is between 1 and 2.  So, it hit me like a ton of bricks last night about midnight. If my calculations were right, then SFA might be in the top two or so in the nation in service ace ratio.

As quick as my fingers could get on the NCAA Volleyball Statistics website, I had found the data I needed to show that, yes.. SFA was FIRST IN THE NATION in the ratio of aces to errors.  In fact, there are only six teams in Division 1 NCAA Volleyball that have more aces than errors.  Here is the list:

1.  Stephen F. Austin.  125 aces/99 errors.  Ratio: 1.26

2.  Robert Morris         111 aces/95 errors.  Ratio: 1.17

3.  Pittsburgh               148 aces/133 errors  Ratio: 1.11

4.  IUPUI                     138 aces/128 errors  Ratio: 1.08

5.  Northern Iowa        120 aces/113 errors  Ratio: 1,06

6.  South Dakota St.    142 aces/141 errors  Ratio: 1.01

There you have it.  SFA has the best ace to error ratio - by quite a hefty margin - in the entire country.  I nearly peed my pants when I figured this out and sent volleyball SID Brian Newton an email about it at 12:40 AM last night.  Like all great SID's, he was still awake and working and we started talking about it in emails.  Fascinating stuff.  But wait, you think that's interesting?  This will blow you away:

Now, what about the top individual servers in the conference this year?  

Below, we look at the Top 20 ace producing players in the conference.  There are actually 21 data points since there was a tie for 20th.  To get into the top 20, a player had to amass 25 or more service aces.  All 21 girls are all listed at the bottom of this post for reference.  I plotted these 21 girls aces on the horizontal (x) axis below and their number of service errors on the vertical (y) axis. Check out the plot:

The slope of that trend line going through the data works out to be 1.45, which of course is really close to 1.5.  If you remember your high school geometry, a slope of 1.5 means as you increase aces by 1, you expect to increase errors by 1.5.  Now, multiply each of those numbers by two and what do you get?  For every two aces, you expect to increase service errors by three.  That's a 2/3 ratio.  Have we seen that before? Sure, that's the conference average that I alluded to above.  So, the above graph shows that the top servers in the conference still huddle around the ratio of 2 aces to every three errors.  That alone is rather interesting.

But, if you look carefully you'll see that there are three points in the graph that fall well above the trend line and four points that fall well below the trend line.  The remaining points fall relatively close to what the trend line would predict.

First, those below the trend line:  Holland and Ivy (SFA), Baresh (AMCC) and Sander (UNO).  There are your four most efficient servers in the conference.  They managed to crack the top 20 in aces, but at the same time, they kept their service errors amazingly low so that they fall well below the trend line.  This indicates efficiency:  high aces and low errors.  That's good!

But, what about those way above the trend line:  Schnars and Singleton (UCA) and McStravick (HBU).  These girls have way more service errors than what should be expected for the number of aces they achieved.  Amazing!  It was UCA's serving that got me on this crazy chase in the first place and sure enough, they have two of the three girls with the lowest ace to error ratios among the high ace girls in the whole conference.  See list below.  The fact that these points fall above the trend line represents more serving inefficiency than what should be expected.  That's bad.

By the way, that one lone point WAY over on the right is Southland ace leader Malina Sanchez who has 70 aces and 86 service errors.  Notice her data point is right near the line, so her ratio is right in line with what would be expected.  Another "by the way" fact... McNeese leads the NATION in aces, but is also one of only three schools with more than 300 service errors.  Also, Lamar has one of the worst ace to error ratios in the country (in the worst five).

Stop and think about something just a second:  Sanchez has 86 service errors and Schnars has 85.  SFA has 99.... as A TEAM.

Now, one might argue that jump servers like Schnars and Singleton get opposing teams out of system often on serves that land in bounds and this has a tangible benefit to their teams not accounted for in the numbers above.  That's fair to assume.  But, three counterpoints:  1) How do you know that isn't true for good servers who don't jump like Holland and Ivy?  2) You don't have any hard data ON THE WHOLE LEAGUE to substantiate that claim anyway (although it would be nice to try and track for the LEAGUE) and 3) one thing is for certain:  a service error results in a 0% chance you win that point.  

So, I think the above data suggest that a player who doesn't jump serve, but has something about their approach that leads to high aces and low errors is an overall better contributor to their teams total scoring.  To boil it down, let's just look at two extremes:  What would you prefer:  Holland (25 aces, 7 errors, short serves to get teams rushing in to the net and potentially out of system) or Schnars (36 aces, but 85 errors with a jump serve that can be difficult to return)? It's going to be tough to argue that Schnars' 11 more aces isn't cancelled out by her 78 more service errors!!  Plus, can you really explain away 78 more service errors by saying her jump results in more UCA points that Holland's short float results in SFA points?  I doubt it.  If so, I'll need some data and not just a hunch for me to believe it. 

Notice that an aggressive jump server like Devaney Wells-Gibson (she sometimes backs off on it, though) has been able to record more aces than errors (41/39).  So, I am not down on jump serving as a whole.  I just believe the control has to be there.

My conclusion is that aggressive jump serving needs to result in a VERY large fraction of balls staying in play when they are not aces.  Otherwise, the practice is too aggressive and the net effect is negative and the player should consider abandoning it.  I think my data above suggests exactly that.  For now, I nominate Holland, Sander, Ivy and Baresh (in that order) as the most efficient servers in the conference.  Holland's ratio in the list below is just absurd:

Ace to Error Ratios of Top 20 Ace Producing Servers (SLC 2014)

1. Holland (SFA)            25/7 (3.57)

2. Sander (UNO)            27/14 (1.96)

3. Ivy (SFA)                   30/18 (1.67)

4. Baresh (AMCC)         39/28 (1.39)

5. DiFrancesco (NSU)   29/24 (1.21)

T6. Nash (UCA)             25/23 (1.09)

T6. Hammoutene (UNO) 25/23 (1.09)

8. Wells-Gibson (SHSU)  41/39 (1.05)

T9. Kilpatrick (SHSU)      30/29 (1.03)

T9. Homer (SHSU)           30/29  (1.03)

11. Sellers-Wiebe (UNO)  25/27 (0.93)

12. Sanchez (McNeese)     70/86  (0.81)

13. Graham (McNeese)      30/38 (0.79)

14. Nicholson (AMCC)     42/54 (0.78)

15. Egea (NICH)               30/39 (0.77)

16. Jaeger (NSU)               26/36 (0.72)

17. Schwartz (NICH)         28/39 (0.72)

18. Hollowell (LU)             27/41 (0.66)

19. Singleton (UCA)          44/74 (0.59)

20. McStravick (HBU)       25/50 (0.50)

21. Schnars (UCA)             36/85 (0.42)

Ace to Error Ratios of SLC Teams 2014:

1. SFA          1.26

2. NSU          0.86

3. TAMUCC 0.83

4. UNO         0.77

5. SHSU       0.77

6. McNeese  0.70

7. UCA         0.64

8. HBU         0.62

9. ACU         0.62

10. UIW        0.52

11. SLU        0.50

12. Lamar     0.39

Interviews and Announcements

Links to recent audio interviews:

Senior Day:
Debbie Humphreys After UCA Match
Jill Ivy After UCA Match
Paige Holland After UCA Match

SFA 3, NSU 1:
Justice Walker After NSU Match (Natchitoches)
Jill Ivy & Paige Holland After NSU Match (Natchitoches)

I am happy to report that the Southland Conference has granted SFAVolleyblog.net written permission to cover the 2014 Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament.  Of course, this event goes down in Natchitoches, LA next weekend - Friday, November 21 through Sunday, November 23.  I am pleased to be partnering with the conference office on this.  The first two days of the tournament will be covered by the Southland Digital Network.  The championship match will appear on ESPN3.  Details can be found at the SLC's Conference Tournament Central website.

Last year at this time I was ready to begin Internet radio broadcasts.  However, there really wasn't enough time to get the proper permissions and shortly before the tournament began in Corpus Christi, the league office let me know that it would be best if I didn't begin radio for the first time at the SLC Tourney.  In retrospect, this was wise.  By working out some kinks during the 2014 preseason, we were able to deliver 13 SFA broadcasts this year along with a special presentation of UCA @ NSU.  Response to the Internet Radio broadcasts has been positive.

I am repeatedly asked by fans when the next broadcast is planned.  I have received email and Facebook messages from several people saying that they have enjoyed staying connected in a fresh way during 2014. At a time where attendance at many SLC matches around the league is several hundred a night, it has been a strong showing to have had over 100 listeners many times during the season.  Our last broadcast topped out at 185 total listens.  The attendance listed in the box score for that match was 336.

There are some things I need to do better.  I've gone back and reviewed most of the broadcasts and noticed some things in terms of descriptions that I can do better.  Each time I do a game, I feel like it gets just a tad cleaner and more descriptive.  The goal is to quickly and accurately describe the play-by-play while sprinkling in a bit of analysis here and there.  Additionally, as all who know me pretty well are aware:  I am a passionate fan and so a fair bit of emotion comes through during the broadcasts.  I think this has to be measured, but I don't really intend to try and repeat the styles of larger media outlets.  I'll continue to be honest while always attempting to be respectful of both squads.  One thing I am committed to is complementing good play - even if it is from our opponent.  I've always believed that championing others doesn't have to be at the expense of "rooting for the home team". Good volleyball is good volleyball and listeners deserve to hear about strong efforts from all athletes involved.

This years' coverage of the Southland Conference Tournament will be more comprehensive than ever.  Last year, we posted 19 audio interviews during the three days and did live chats during all matches.  The 2014 Tournament coverage will be expanded to include:

1. SFAVolleyBlog Radio broadcasts all three days.  All seven matches will be broadcast live including all SFA matches.

2. Audio Interviews posted on the blog's SoundCloud site.  Many of these will be done between matches or right after matches are finished.  The audio interviews will be instantly processed and will appear online within 15 minutes of completion.  So, these will be "instant reaction" type interviews from players and coaches.

3. Video Interviews posted on the blog's YouTube channel.   Some of these interviews will be from a fixed location in Prather Coliseum that I'll set up on Friday morning when I arrive.  I wouldn't be surprised if there are one or two video interviews done on Friday and Saturday evening from the team hotels.  Since these have to be edited, they will go up at night.  This will provide you a bridge to the next day's games.

I have a post about serving statistics in the works.  This will go up within a week.  Also, my 6th Annual SFAVolleyBlog All-Conference Teams will be posted on Monday, November 17.  I expect the conference to announce the official teams and awards on Wednesday, November 19 although that is not confirmed.  I like to get my lists out ahead of the official ones so that I cannot be accused of undue bias.  You can familiarize yourself with my system by reading last years' lists at this link.

I do want to address a position that I have taken in times past again here in this post:  I do NOT believe that All-Conference selections should be purposely skewed towards the top teams in the conference.  Last year I wrote this:

"I categorically reject the notion that All-Southland Conference teams are meant to honor those teams that finished high in the standings by default and design.  To do this is unquestionably biased and duplicative. As a scientist, I just can't do things that are by their very design biased and duplicative."

I stand by this statement 100%.  If a player on a 9th place team is the second or third best player at her position, then she deserves to be honored.  We have standings, trophies and NCAA bids for the best TEAMS.  All-SLC teams are about players, not teams.

My methodology evolves, of course.  This year, I have done even more statistical analysis than in the past - especially for the hitters.  But, I have also made more notes throughout the year based on personal observation, information I've gleaned from conversations with coaches and information on team websites.  All in all, I have spent more time constructing the lists in 2014 than in any other year.

 Last year, 16 of the 18 names on the official lists appeared on my lists.  Of course, the goal isn't to "guess what the conference will do".  There is no point in creating the lists unless I feel as though my lists have a level of respectability and accuracy.  Despite that position, the official lists comprise the votes of 26 individuals (coaches and SID's), and of course, my list, is just one person's opinion.  However, I do feel qualified to vote.  As in years' past, I suspect I will be granted the media privilege of voting for the All-Tournament Team and the Tournament MVP.  As always, I will publish my ballot after casting it.

Recent Media Uploads

Here are links to recent YouTube Videos and SoundCloud Audio Interviews:

Tori Bates Post-Match Comments After SFA Sweeps HBU (Audio)

Debbie Humphreys Interview After SFA Sweeps ACU (Video)

Jill Ivy Post-Match Comments After SFA Sweeps McNeese (Audio)


New Coaches in the Southland Series:

Abilene Christian University Head Volleyball Coach Jason Bibler (3rd in series, Video)

McNeese Head Volleyball Coach Ashleigh Fitzgerald (2nd in series, Video)

Links to Audio Interviews From Arkansas: Humphreys, Ivy, Bartlett

Click the link below to hear SFA Head Coach Debbie Humphreys discuss the Ladyjacks effort and progress against Michigan.  Also check out the post match comments by Senior right side hitter Jill Ivy and Freshman left side Kelsi Bartlett.  The interview with Ivy and Bartlett was done after the 'Jacks picked up their first win of the 2014 season against Tennessee State in their final match of the Arkansas Tournament.

Notes:  Setter Paige Holland finished the tournament on a high point with 17 assists in two-setter format vs. Tennessee State.  Holland also totalled 25 digs in her 10 sets over the weekend.  She was SFA's representative on the All-Tournament Team.

Home Opener (Shelton Gym):  Monday, September 1 at 6:30 vs. North Texas

Click Here For Humphreys Post-Match Comments vs. Michigan

Click Here For Ivy/Bartlett Interview After SFA Beats Tennessee State 3-0

Focus On: Jill Ivy

When people prepare to play SFA, one of the first names they become familiar with is Jill Ivy. She is as key to team success as anyone in 2014. At this point, Jill is a decorated veteran having earned many all-conference and all-tournament honors during her first three years in purple.

In recent memory, I struggle to remember a player who improved as much as Jill did after her freshman year. During Jill's first year, I recall talking to the parents of a player who is no longer at SFA at a Saturday cookout before a match.  The focus of the conversation were the 2011 freshman and what their projected impact would be across their four years at SFA. During the chat with the parents, I was gushing about Katzy Randall.  One of the parents mentioned Jill's name as a possible big-time contributor as she gained experience. Now, while appreciative of Jill's abilities, it's safe to say that in 2011, I vastly under predicted the total impact she has had at SFA the last three years. I walked away from that conversation and just sort of shrugged my shoulders.

Now, if Randall's shoulder had held up, I might have been right.  But, one thing is for sure.  Jill Ivy is one of the best players in the Southland Conference.  It doesn't take five minute analysis over a chili dog at a game day party to know that.  Everyone. Knows. It.

Leading up to the first serve of the season we will follow the schedule below.  Each day will feature a new interview or post! Volleyball is back.  It's time to Get On Board.

Click on Jill's name in the link below to go to our new YouTube Channel!!

Monday:  Interview with Jill Ivy 

Tuesday:  Interview with Paige Holland

Wednesday:  Interview with Janet Hill

Thursday:  Preview of our seven Juniors:  Allen, Bates, Evans, Kainer, McArdle, Martin & Olson

Road Kill

With two weeks left on the Southland Conference regular season schedule, it is safe to say that SFA’s 14-13 overall record, and especially the 6-8 mark in SLC play qualifies as a disappointment.  Sure, four straight victories over the next two weeks could get us into the tournament and avoid the #8 seed.  It would also qualify as an emotional boost and establish some confidence for the first round match up.  So, all is not lost as of yet because there is still meaningful volleyball to be played.  Yet, to this point, things haven’t gone according to script.

Then again, do we have a script?  Of the seasons in recent memory there are some in which we have taken a while to establish a regular set of starters and substitution patterns.  This season qualifies as different.  There were no regular starters or rotation patterns.  Even if we play the exact same group over the last two weeks, that will hardly count as a pattern given the season is in its third month.

It is hard to know what is more inconsistent:  the overall quality of play by this years’ squad or the lineups and offensive sets that we run out there against our opponents.  Of course, the two are correlated in some way.  Still, the combinations are dizzying.  One setter offense?  Two setter offense?  Six rotation player?  Three rotation player?  On the bench?  From week to week no one knows.   Need replaced during the match?  Will that player return or sit the remainder of today?  That’s up in the air.

Now, all of the above could be taken as a criticism as to how we’ve utilized our personnel.  It could be taken to be a criticism of coaching decisions.  Maybe there are others – possibly myself included – that would have made fewer concoctions out of the lineup than what our coaching staff has, but still, it is hard to pin this years’ lack of consistent performance entirely on role changes.  Coach Humphreys and crew can never be accused of being unwilling to try something new.  I mean, I have never seen so many attempts at trying to find the magic combination as I’ve witnessed this year.  To no avail.  It hasn’t happened.

I like roles.  I think players like roles.  I find it hard to believe that players can prepare and be at their best among constant change.  Then again, this is collegiate athletics.  Adaptation is key.  Be versatile or sit on the pine.  I can understand that.  Flexibility is required when things don’t naturally settle into a working pattern. Still, it is mind blowing just how many changes have been made. Playing time and roles are largely unstable.

I haven’t mentioned one factor yet that others might instantly have thrown into the ring:  injuries.  Sure, we’ve had injuries.  Injuries affect your lineup and they certainly require that roles be fluid.  However, maybe I am in the minority here:  I don’t think our injuries a) cost us more than maybe one win and b) aren’t really all that more than what other teams have experienced.  Maybe I am wrong.  I didn’t go through every roster and check the exact time that players have been out.  However, as I’ve studied the teams we are about to play I’ve commonly come across stories of injuries.  As I’ve talked to coaches before and after matches they all tell me stories of girls being sick, hurt, having to leave the team, etc.  It’s sports.  People get hurt.

No, I don’t think injuries are/were the most important factor in our underwhelming play so far in 2013.  I think they were a factor, but I think they were secondary, if not tertiary in terms of problems.  Culprit #1?  Net defense.  We allow way too many one-one-one attacks at the net.  We don’t consistently close blocks and far too often are caught out of position giving opposing setters the chance to pick attackers that create isolation attacks repeatedly on us at the net.  Simply put, we have statistical leaders in blocks, but overall… I don’t think we are a good blocking team.  And there IS a difference between statistically generating blocks and being a good blocking team.  In fact, a lot of being a good blocking team may very well never translate to actual blocks.  An attack that is slowed down – even barely touched at the net – is more likely to be dug (and dug to target) than forcing a back row player to slow down a full powered swing.  Secondly, and maybe more importantly, a closed block forces attackers to choose alternate lanes to swing into.  These alternate lanes are attackers secondary choices and they can be more easily read by back row defenders.  When only one lane is open, then that lane can be better anticipated by the back row player.

We don’t do those two things:  1) we don’t consistently touch balls at the net to help out the dig and 2) we don’t take away alleys for hitters so that balls can be funneled down one lane.

The result:  Our opponents score more easily than we would prefer.

Now, I said injuries were an issue, but maybe issue #3.  So, what about Issue #2?  Well, if net defense is at the top of the “needs improvement” list, then next in line is the same darn thing I’ve written about for season after season:  It helps (tremendously) if you have one go-to-girl that can score from anywhere on the court and is on the court at all times.  Middle blockers don’t play all the way around.  Plus, middle blockers are supposed to “block”. At least, their title suggests so. To continue, if your blockers are having trouble slowing down opposing offenses, then splitting their attention by having them carry a heavy offensive responsibility is only further increasing the chance that they won’t consistently contribute on both sides of the ball.  No, the players that should be your go-to six rotation players are definitively outside hitters.

Earlier in the year, I argued for Kaitlyn Granger to be “left alone” and just put out there for six rotations.  Recently, this is exactly how she’s been used and I like that.  I just think she is the kind of player that will play her best if she is in the game consistently, not playing then sitting, then playing then sitting.  However, the suggestion that Granger play six-rotations was not with the thought that she would be the go-to on offense.  The go-to’s are clearly Ivy and Bates.  One of them, in my mind, should ALWAYS play six rotations.  Here is where the injuries put a snarl into the plan… maybe.

Ivy’s knee and Bates’ ankle at times this year have kept them out of the lineup and I understand that each needed to be gradually worked back into playing shape and build up stamina and confidence in their health.  But at some point, once they’ve proven that they can play, then you gotta have one of them out there at all times.  Otherwise, you don’t have that go-to on the floor to get you out of a funky rotation or really even to create a diversion for the opponent.

Its’ nice to have three solid offensive choices on the floor as much as often to force the defense to respect the entire net.   Typically, SFA has two players on the floor that I think the defense has to worry about and unfortunately, in some rotations, at some points in the year, we have had one decent offensive option on the floor in our weakest rotations.

Offense actually has become  MORE of a problem as the year has progressed.  SFA is hitting .199 as a team – which is actually 40 points higher than last year.  However, we have hit .174 in conference matches - meaning that we were having more attacking success earlier in the year as opposed to the last month or so. 

Look back over the last months’ games and identify the one where you think SFA had its best offensive showing.  If you don’t pick the home game against Lamar, then it has to be a candidate.  That match was against a decent opponent and we were in control for virtually the entire afternoon.  The net defense was better that day and in terms of actually blocks, we basically doubled the Cardinals up. 

The offense was sharp and how did we do it?  Bates (20 kills, .500) and Ivy (11 kills, .375) led the way and Granger did what I mentioned above.  She was a complimentary piece – limiting her errors, which she has to do – and came within one kill and one dig of a double double.  The offense was led by the outside/right side hitters and the middles blocked balls.  Plus, Madison Martin played out of her mind on the back row, digging up things left and right.  Aside:  The girl can play.. no doubt… I love me some Madison Martin, but someone hitting negative .046 isn’t an attacker.  Her role is as a back row defender and passer and she’s damn good at it.  However, giving her 20-25 swings a night just shouldn’t be in the game plan.

So, not enough net defense and no consistent six-rotation scorer than can bail you out of a tough run.  That’s my top two in terms of why we are sitting at .500 and on the bubble of the tournament.  Everyone knows we still have a shot.  I mean, c’mon, suppose we beat both SELA and UNO and even split at home between ORU and Northwestern St.  That’d be 9-9 in SLC play, maybe we’d tie with someone we had the breaker on and earn the #7 seed.  That’s not terrible, because then we would be opposite UCA in the bracket and play someone in the first and second round that we could have complete confidence against!  It can be done!

However, to finish this up and make what I think is my overall point… consider this “leaderboard”.  The statistic that I think encapsulates my point here is looking at the DIFFERENCE between attack percentage and opponent attack percentage.  You want this to be positive.  If it is negative then your opponents are swinging at a higher percentage than you.  Now, if this is negative AND your own attack percentage is below league average, then that’d be a double whammy… and that’s precisely SFA’s situation.

CONFERENCE ONLY (ATTACK % - OPPONENT ATTACK %)

1. UCA            .151

2. ORU            .094

T3. SHSU       .057

T3. NWLA       .057

5. TAMUCC    .039

6. Lamar          .016

7. McNeese    .009

8. HBU            -.007

9. UIW             -.032

T10. ACU        -.044

T10. SELA      -.044

12. SFA           -.047

13. NICH         -.072

14. UNO          -.201

The top five teams in the conference are also the five that top this list.  The teams we are fighting with for a tournament spot (Lamar, McNeese, HBU) are all at basically zero on that list.  Draw your own final conclusion.  I think I’ve made a sufficient case.

I’ve already written once this season about opposing hitters feasting on us.  If you are looking for a tell-tale sign as to whether we have anything left in the tank for the last three weeks, don’t talk about injuries. 

Instead, how about we ride our two prize horses named Ivy and Bates as much as we can and everyone else on the front row start slowing some opposing attacks down on a consistent basis?

Step Up. 

Veteran Previews: Paige Holland & Jill Ivy

This years' veteran previews begins with the sophomore class and we'll break this up into two installments. Later in the week I will share with you interviews with OH Katzy Randall and DS Janet Hill, but our focus in this post will be sophomore setter Paige Holland along with favorite target on the right side Jill Ivy.

As mentioned in the first post to start off this season a few weeks ago, I am committed to doing more interviews this year, both with our club and coaches/players from around the Southland Conference. So, unlike in years past where these previews were exclusively online interview transcripts, we'll add an audio component to the previews as well. Hopefully, posts like this will connect you more to the girls on our club and provide a more "real" experience as you actually get to listen to athletes as well as read their answers to questions I've posed to them.

Probably the player that had the longest leash last year on our club was freshman Paige Holland. Not that she needed it. Nonetheless, it was obvious that she was going to be tabbed the starter from early on in practices and that the year of Allison Gideon at the helm was one-and-done. Right from the get go, for better or for worse, Holland was going to be the setter without looking back.. or at least, that was the impression I got from the coaching staff before we even stepped on the court for our first match of 2011. All things considered, Holland didn't disappoint. She didn't finish in the top half of the conference in assists per set, but she didn't cause the offense to lag either. Remember, setters need good passes and their numbers are often correlated to how well back row players can dish to them..an area SFA struggled with at times during '11.

Holland did enough to instill confidence going forward and there was no reason to go looking for a replacement coming into 2012. We are probably better with Rister as a backup going into this year than we have been in that role for the last two years, but Holland will be the primary and all indications are that a step forward is coming. I'd look for the assists per set to slide above 10.00 this year and for her soon to be considered one of the top four or five setters in the Southland.

Jill Ivy didn't start off 2011 carrying nearly the load that she began carrying mid-way through the season. About a month into last year, she settled in on the right side and wound up being second to senior MC Bottles in total kills and kills per set. This tells me two things: one that I've thought for a long time and one that Ivy proved during her freshman year - first, SFA needs more production off the left pin. I have long argued this and I believe it firmly. The return to the top of the conference will correspond with a dominating left side attack. While running a lot more through middles than other teams in the conference, to have your leading two attackers be the M1 and the RS points to an area that needs improvement. Secondly, though, Ivy proved she can play and handle a large load. Health permitting, she's as good as a sure thing that SFA has on the front row and the conference agrees tabbing her a pre-season All-SLC pick.

What follows is a transcript of a Facebook chat the three of us had and then at the bottom of the post you'll find the audio component that was taped after the intrasquad scrimmage last Saturday. For what it's worth, I thought both girls were impressive in the scrimmage. Holland was on the mark for most of the afternoon and Ivy is clearly contacting the ball at a higher point that she was during 2011.

SFAVB: Jill, what is the #1 thing that you are most looking forward to this year? Are there any personal goals that you are particularly hopeful that you can achieve as you begin your sophomore season?

JI: The #1 thing I'm looking forward to the most is conference play. Last year, I don't think I had a good sense of the rivalries between SFA and other universities because I was only a freshman. Now, I can remember the wins and losses of last year and use them to create new personal rivalries. I have set a few personal goals for myself, like an all-conference pick, but the number one goal for me is winning conference tournament and getting a bid to the NCAA tournament. I believe that with the talent and heart we all bring to the court this year, winning conference and conference tournament is not only achievable but inevitable.

SFAVB: Paige, what about you, is there one component of your game are you most looking to improve upon during your sophomore season?

PH: This season I am really hoping to improve upon my front row game and also in the consistency of my play. If I am more aggressive as a front row setter and have the attention of the blockers on the other side of the net, our hitters will have more openings and be more successful. Also, if my sets are more consistent every game the hitters will be able to accurately time their approaches and find more openings in the block.

SFAVB: Following up on that, while on front row, what indicators or behaviors do you look for in opposing players to know where weak spots in defenses exist? What things are you watching for as a setter on the opponents’ side of the net?

PH: The main thing I look for on the other side of the net is a weakness in the block. If there is a short outside or a front row setter on the other side of the net, we usually attack that weakness as much as possible.

SFAVB: Jill, you played all over the front row in high school & club, but settled in on the right side last year. For people who don’t stop to think about it, describe what is more challenging about attacking from the right side as opposed to the left.

JI: To me, the most difficult thing about being a right side is having to wait until the ball passes over your left arm (guide arm) to swing. On the outside [left] your right hand is closest to the ball so it is less difficult to contact smoothly. Also, being a right handed right side you sometimes have to deal with awkward angles especially when being set an out of system ball.

SFAVB: Of course, blocking as a right side is a big responsibility so describe what you see out of our starting middles that you will close blocks alongside: Sabrina is a senior and Jacque is just beginning.. describe what you see as the strength of each one of these teammates.

JI: First of all I just want to say that they are both amazing players! They both bring an incredible amount of hard work and heart to court. Sabrina's strength is closing the block. She does a great job at making sure she lines up properly with the pin hitter which eliminates the split, helping the defense get in their correct spots. Jacque's strength is her speed. She's incredibly fast which helps her get to the pins fast enough to get herself set and balanced.

SFAVB: Concerning teammates, Paige, give us a quick one sentence impression that you have about each of the new front row attackers that will be on the team this year.

PH: Tori [Bates]: Tori is so intimidating! She is such a powerful hitter, yet also knows how to place the ball with a roll shot or tip in order to get a kill. I am so thankful that she is on my team and not my opponent.

Keeley [Kainer]: Keeley is already such a talented hitter, and I know as the season goes on she is going to become an integral part of our success. I can't wait to set her this year!

Cara [Leslie]: Cara has so much force behind her arm swing and gets a kill almost every time she gets a set. She improves every single practice and it is awesome to watch her play!

[Sydney] Zoiber: Zo is awesome to have on the court! The energy and hustle that she brings to her side of the net is contagious and makes everyone raise their level of competition.

SFAVB: Jill, I’ve heard a lot of positive things about your work (and work ethic) in the weight room. Describe the effect that the strength and conditioning staff as well as the training staff has had on you while you’ve been at SFA.

JI: The strength and conditioning staff has definitely had a positive effect. It's obvious that they want us to all be the best we can be physically and mentally on, as well as off, the court. Working with Brittany [Castledine] has been great because since she is a former SFA Volleyball player, she knows how to get us in the shape we need to be in so we can be as strong in the fifth set as we were in the first. The training staff has also been extremely important because they help keep all of us healthy all year. They do a great job at checking out everything and anything that could be wrong and making sure we can get back on the court as soon as possible.

SFAVB: Paige, one thing that fans will notice this year is that you've changed uniform numbers from #11 to #1. Is there a story there?

PH: The switch of numbers is actually a really simple story. All of my life I have looked up to my sister in every way, and because of that I ended up copying basically her every move. So when she started playing volleyball in junior high, I immediately wanted to play also. From the very beginning she was #1 and I have always chosen that number ever since because of her. So as soon as MC graduated I asked Coach Humphreys for her jersey, and I am so excited to be #1 this year!

SFAVB, Finally, Jill, describe one of the most fun moments you can remember last year while the club was on a road trip. Is there a funny story or particularly strong memory you have about something that happened on the road at some time last year?

JI: The funniest moment I can remember is in the locker room before the game against McNeese. We were all waiting for Coach to come in and give us our pregame talk. After she said a few words she made us all get up and stand in front of a mirror. All of sudden she started to yell a quote from the movie "Cool Runnings". She told us to repeat it, and so we all started to yell, " I see pride.. etc.". It was so random but after that we played, I think, one of the best matches of the season which gave us our spot in the conference tournament. The quote brought us luck so we ended up making a t shirt for conference tournament out of it.

SFAVB: Many thanks to both Paige and Jill for the time they sacrificed, not only to return questions via Facebook, but also to sit down and have the chat that you can listen to below:

24 Hours: Two Different Teams

I walked away from Shelton Gym on Saturday afternoon both frustrated and disappointed. In the hours after the match I penned a doom-n-gloom post in my head and was ready late last night to gather my thoughts and write how inconsistent this team has been and just get a few things off my chest. You know, I don't think I was alone in my thoughts yesterday: Many of us were down after the 3-1 loss to Central Arkansas. I looked ahead at the upcoming schedule and allowed myself to think: We're just not going to do much better than in 2010.

I've learned through the years to "hold off" in times in frustration. If your words are worth writing at 11 Pm, then they will probably still be worth writing the next morning or afternoon. Such a patient approach at the keyboard has served me well in an academic environment where many an email has wanted to fly off my fingers in times of anger. So, I took pause. I waited. After all, Sunday was a non-conference game and less than 24 hours away. The post could wait until Sunday night or Monday. Patience 1, Tired Frustration 0.

Look what happened. 24 Hours: Two Different Teams.

After the match today, Bobby Bottles (MC's Dad) came up to me and his first words were: "Who was that team playing here yesterday?". He didn't mean UCA.

And, that's exactly it. Against UCA, there were some fundamentally bad moments. The blocking was atrocious. Horrible. The word disgusting came to mind a few times. You just cannot give a team - any team - the kind of free, uncontested looks that UCA got in that match. They thundered ball after ball to the floor while hitting 1 on 1 and even completely without a block up.. over and over and over. After the first set, when UCA hit .400, the entire media table - SID's, former players, staff that have coached at various levels & myself all looked at each other and said the same thing: Are we going to block "ANYTHING"?

Nope, we were not. We lost. Bad. The comeback in Set 3 only acted as strong cologne over the top of the profuse stink that was the rest of the match. Humphreys told me before today's match that she thought they should have won Set 2. OK. But what's just as true is that UCA went home on the bus (hopefully it didn't break down three times like it did getting over here) saying that they should have swept us. They should have. You aren't going to see many comebacks from 19-10 this year.

OK, enough with that. All things are made new in the morning. Flash forward to Sunday.

Blocking? Check. Right off the bat in Set 1. Go back and look at the play by play. Nah, keep reading - I already did. Check this out:

In Set 1:
SFA 4, Missouri State 3: Block by Bottles and Miksch
SFA 6, Missouri State 4: Block by Bottles
SFA 10, Missouri State 7: Block by Ivy and Burns
SFA 11, Missouri State 7: Block by Randall.

Four of the first 11 points we scored Sunday were off blocks. We blocked better in Set 1 on Sunday than we did in the entire match on Saturday. Frankly, we did so against a team that overall is probably considered stronger than Central Arkansas.

Consistency. We need consistency. I was really pleased to hear Humphreys talk about finding a consistent lineup going forward in her post game interview with Ben Rikard. Two regular components to our floor arsenal will probably include Jill Ivy and Taylor Gross (see interview above).

In fact, probably the biggest positive from the weekend was the emergence of Jill Ivy on the right side. Earlier in the season she saw spotty playing time and didn't play overwhelmingly well. A lot of her errors were going long - hitting the ball over the block and out of bounds. Lately, all that's changed. In fact, in Sunday's loss against UCA she was our best offensive weapon. This week (last three games) she hit 29-9-71 (.281). We'll take that for sure. Plus, it was nice to see her in on 4 blocks in 4 sets on Sunday after only 1 on Saturday.

Then, there is Taylor Gross. I like her hitting out on the edge. She's been very efficient. She hit 17-5-55 (.218) this weekend (Thurs/Sat/Sun) , including only two errors in 35 swings during the last two matches. Plus, she's fiery. Serious energy. She's one of my favorite celebrators after a big block or kill (Les Jackson's up there, too). Plus, Taylor is the designated girl for "Heeeeeeerreeee we go 'Jacks" heard when the team walks on to the court right before the match begins. A good pick.

Hey, we love our freshman. Holland, Ivy, Gross and Randall are all immediately central to the team. Hill has her role and Allen and Spicer are biding their time.. to be heard from. But let me end this post with a short rant.. and yes, its statistically based (imagine that?).

Get... Bottles... The.... Ball....On.... Offense.

There were many reasons we lost on Saturday. But consider this: Coming into Saturday, in games we won, Bottles had received 1 in every 5 sets. OK, follow along: What I am saying, is that when we have won, she has taken 20% of the teams' swings.

Saturday: She got set 1 in every 8 balls, rather than 1 in every five. Only 12%. That was the lowest percentage of swings as compared to the total attacks by the team that she has taken all year. She cannot be set that little (17 attacks out of 135 total by the team across four sets). Hey, I know Ivy was hot. But still, Bottles didn't get her fair share of balls set her way in the UCA match. Now, to be fair.. she didn't block any balls either (As already documented, that changed in a big way on Sunday)

[Warning: I am not a coach. I am a fan. The following is my opinion and I could be wrong. This is my blog and I'll write what I think.

Now, returning to regularly scheduled blogging:]

Listen, I am not blaming Holland. Heck, I'm not blaming anybody. Holland has done a really nice job. Really, really nice. She's a big reason we've won when we've won. But, I think it is perfectly all right to tell Holland.. "Look.. I don't care who is hot.. also always remember to find a way to get Bottles the ball". Last time I checked, she's got a few All-SLC honors on her mantle. Look, I know she's not God or anything, and I think she knows she has to really step up and lead despite all the young guns getting attention. Hey, she's a Senior. She can't make any excuses. But please, let's not get carried away with players that are half way through one season of NCAA volleyball. You wanna go to the tournament? You wanna finish in the top half of the league? You wanna be in a position to make some noise down the stretch? Then, dance with the one who brought ya, sister. Her name is MC.

End of Rant.

During the week I will post a really nice interview with UCA Head Coach David McFatrich. I had a great chat both on and off mic with both McFatrich and UCA assistant Todd Hay. I found out we share a few things in common that made me really identify with those guys. I was sorry to miss out on Jessica Hays, who is injured. I had a whole list of questions for her, just like I did for Kolbe when SHSU came to town. I did meet Hays' father after the match and that was neat. Hays - as any regular reader knows - is probably my favorite non-SFA player in the league.

Oh, and during that conversation with Hays' Dad.. you know who HE said his favorite non-UCA player was in the league?

That'd be MC Bottles.

Just sayin'.