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PENSACOLA, Fla. - The University of West Florida volleyball team looks to continue its red-hot start to the Gulf South Conference schedule at home this weekend, as the Argos host Lee on Friday at 5:00 p.m., Shorter on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Mississippi College on Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

VICTORY IN VALDOSTA: For the first time since the 2013 season, UWF beat Valdosta State on the road as the Argonauts dousted the Blazers in four sets on Tuesday... With a 19-1 record in GSC play last year, last year's contest in Valdosta against VSU was the only conference loss of the season for UWF... Corisha Smith posted a team single-game high and career-high 21 kills, while Monique StCyr's 58 assists was the fifth most in any four-set contest in program history.
 
START OF GSC PLAY: For the third consecutive year, UWF has started 3-0 in GSC action... Before the win in Valdosta, UWF swept West Alabama and West Georgia to open conference play... In conference action, the Argos have been led by Corisha Smith and Kourtney Pittaway who are averaging 4.3 and 3.4 kills per set, respectively, in conference action... Monique StCyr owns a 11.2 assists per set average in GSC play, while Tori Martella is averaging 5.1 digs per set thus far in conference play.
 
STAT LEADERS:  Tori Martella currently leads the GSC with 4.25 digs per set and 215 total digs on the season... Kathryn Torre leads UWF with 38 blocks on the season and sits third in the GSC in that statistic... Torre is also fourth in the GSC with a .323 hitting percentage... Monique StCyr stands fifth in the GSC with 8.90 assists per set.
IN THE RANKINGS: West Florida returned to the national rankings in last week's poll at No. 25, and jumped up two spots to No. 23 in this week's rankings... All four of UWF's losses have been to teams ranked in the top 18 spots in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
 
SCOUTING LEE: The Lady Flames have gotten off to a 3-5 start and hold an 0-3 record in the Gulf South Conference.
West Florida will be the third ranked opponent Lee faces this year, following losses against then-No. 3 Palm Beach Atlantic and No. 24 North Alabama… LU fell to PBA in a sweep but took North Alabama to five sets, falling 15-12 in the final frame. Despite sitting under .500 on the year, Lee has more kills and points than its opponents. One key difference for the team has been at the net, as the Lady Flames have just 54 total blocks compared to 69.5 for the opposition.
Silvia Sartori has been a focus of the Lee offense in her sophomore season… The Serbian ranks third in the GSC in attacks per set and fifth in kills per set and points per set… Sartori is averaging 3.1 kills per set while hitting .213 when Lee wins a match, and she has hit just .178 with 3.7 kills per set in losses.
Lee won the first match of the series history, but UWF has responded with five consecutive victories since late in the 2013 season… In the last five matchups with these two teams, UWF holds a 15-1 set advantage and has not lost a set since September 2014.
 
SCOUTING SHORTER: Reigning GSC Defensive Player of the Week Elizabeth Dowd has helped lead the Hawks to their perfect 10-0 record. Shorter has been sterling in every category so far, averaging 2.6 more kills, 1.3 service aces and 0.6 blocks per set than its opponents, while posting a .224 team hitting percentage.
The Hawks have gained numerous points on the serve from GSC leader in service aces Cheyenne Frady (20) and Hannah Flack (17), who ranks fifth in the category.
Shorter has benefited from a well-rounded attack this year, with five players averaging 1.5 kills or more per set. The leader in that category is Dowd, who averages 3.44 kills per frame. Dowd also ranks in the top 10 in the conference in attacks per set (9.78; 5th), digs per set (4.28; 4th) and points per set (3.83; 7th).
UWF has won the last four matchups against Shorter and holds an 8-1 all-time record against the Hawks.
 
SCOUTING MC: The Choctaws hold a 6-5 record as of Friday and are 0-4 in the conference, with losses to Christian Brothers, Union, Valdosta State and Shorter. Jenna Campbell and Kayana Mitchell will be players to watch for MC. Campbell leads the team with 101 total points through 11 games and 2.53 kills per set, while recording 20 blocks (0.56 per set). Mitchell averages just less than a block per set (34 blocks, 36 sets played) and is second on the team with 1.78 kills per set. The duo has combined for a .238 hitting percentage. UWF's 5-3 series advantage over Mississippi College in the all-time series may be a bit misleading, as those three West Florida losses came in the 2001 and 2002 seasons… Since MC joined the Gulf South Conference in 2014, West Florida is a perfect 4-0 against the Choctaws and has not lost a set.
 
 
DIGGING HER WAY TO HISTORY:  Senior Tori Martella is within striking distance of the program's all-time digs record, needing 244 to set a new school mark... Martella posted a new program record with 572 digs in the 2015 season.
 
UWF CAREER DIGS RECORD
1,706 - Jerica Carter (2005-2008)
1,519 - Autumn Duyn (2011-2015)
1,462 - Tori Martella (2013-present)
 
LENDING A HELPING HAND: Junior Monique StCyr is also within striking dis- tance of her own record, needing 576 assists to set the program's career assists record... Last season StCyr posted 1,179 assists - the fourth highest total for a single season ever at UWF.
 
UWF CAREER ASSISTS RECORD
2,926 - Madeline Gonzalez (2007-2008)
2,601 - Tricia Tirabassi (2009-2011)
2,577 - Melina Pereira (2003, 2005-2006)
2,350 - Monique StCyr (2014-present)
 
GSC DOMINANCE: Since Melissa Wolter took over the UWF volleyball program prior to the 2003 season, West Florida has been nearly unstoppable in GSC play, owning a 151-21 record... Last year the Argonauts went 19-1 in GSC action, including a 10-0 mark at home... UWF heads into the 2016 with a 51-match winning streak during regular season home games against conference opponents... The last loss for UWF in
a GSC regular season home game came against North Alabama on October 24, 2009... UWF won six consecutive GSC Championships from 2008-2013... UWF currently owns the longest active streak of 20-win seasons in the GSC, which currently stands at 12 (not including 2004 season shortened by Hurricane Ivan)... Valdosta State and North Alabama are tied for the second longest active streak of 20-win seasons in the GSC at three... UWF has reached 10-consecutive NCAA South Regional Tournaments.
 
WITH A NEW UWF PRESIDENT: UWF president Dr. Judith Bense is retiring at the end of the year, and the West Florida volleyball team fared particularly well in years where presidents have been hired in the past... After Bense's hiring in 2008, UWF went 31-8 on the court and reached the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament... The team also won 32 consecutive sets in that season, with the streak starting against West Alabama on October 25 and stretching to November 22, in the last game of the season against Nova Southeastern.