PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF volleyball (18-6, 8-0 GSC) returns home this weekend for matches vs. Mississippi College (10-14, 2-6 GSC) and West Alabama (14-9, 6-1 GSC) Friday and Saturday. The team's 3 p.m. match Saturday vs. West Alabama will be the program's 11th annual "Pack It Pink" match honoring breast cancer survivors and benefiting research directed toward eradicating breast cancer.
WOLTER EARNS 400TH
* Head coach Melissa Wolter earned her 400th career victory as the No. 24 Argos downed Valdosta State (9-11, 4-4 GSC) 3-2 on the road Tuesday evening. Rachel Neblett finished with one of her best matches of the season, posting 19 kills, 6 digs and 5 blocks to help the Argos move to 6-0 on the road this season and stay perfect in conference play.
* The career milestone is another in the impressive career of Melissa Wolter, who has totaled 364 of her 400 career wins at UWF. She has won at least ten matches in 16 of her 18 seasons as a head coach and is zeroing in on her 13th straight year of at least 20 wins.
* Wolter earned another milestone earlier this season, notching her 350th win at UWF September 9th during the team's participation in the Colorado Premier Challenge.
PACK IT PINK MATCH
* In addition to an impressive 3-0 win over No. 21 North Alabama last year, UWF's 10th annual "Pack it Pink" event raised $3,766 for the Pensacola Breast Cancer Association.
* Over the past decade, the team has collected more than $50,000 to do its part in the fight against breast cancer.
* In lieu of tickets, the UWF athletic department will be accepting donations Saturday going towards the Pensacola Breast Cancer Association. A silent auction will run in conjunction with the event and will feature several themed gift baskets, UWF pink jerseys, gift cards, and much more. Items can be bid on in person or online during the match, with all proceeds benefiting the Pensacola Breast Cancer Association.
* The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a "Pack It Pink" T-shirt. In addition, there will be a reception from 2-3 p.m. in the Argonaut Athletic Club for breast cancer survivors.
CURRENT GSC LEADERS
* Rachel Neblett ranks second in the GSC with a .401 hitting percentage.
* In the GSC, Neblett ranks sixth with 3.28 kills per set. Neblett is third with 0.43 service aces per set. She is second with 4.26 points per set.
* Monique StCyr ranks second in the GSC with 9.20 assists per set.
* In the GSC, Caleigh Morrison ranks fourth with 1.02 blocks per set. Neblett ranks fifth with 0.98 blocks per set.
* Logan Kael is ninth in the GSC with 3.82 digs per set.
* UWF leads the GSC with a .243 hitting percentage. The Argos lead the conference with 13.86 kills per set and 0.84 opponent service aces per set. The team leads the conference in blocks with 2.16 per set. The team is second in the GSC with 12.99 assists per set.
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 176-24 record. Last year the Argonauts went 17-3 in GSC action and 10-0 at home. UWF currently has a 65-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 13 (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 11 consecutive NCAA South Regional Tournaments.
* The team is 7-1 overall so far this season at home. Most recently, the team swept Auburn Montgomery and West Georgia September 30 and October 3. The team also scored a 3-2 win over UNA on October 10. The match was against a GSC opponent but did not count toward either team's conference record.
STCYR PURSUES SERVICE ACES RECORD
* Monique StCyr has posted 19 service aces in the 2017 season, drawing her within 11 of the current all-time career record-holder Jessica Bragion, who accumulated 165 from 2002-2005. StCyr is already the all-time career assists leader at UWF, checking in with 3,337 to begin the year and adding 782 this season. She is the first Argo to eclipse 4,000 assists in a career.
UWF CAREER SERVICE ACES
165 - Jessica Bragion (2002-2005)
154 - Monique StCyr (2014-present)
133 - Jerica Carter (2005-2008)
102 - Melina Pereira (2003, 2005-2006)
101 - Chelsea Wilhoite (2007-2010)
101 - Naiara Fernandes (2005-2006)
94 - Autumn Duyn (2012-2015)
92 - Lindsay Homme (2009-2013)
88 - Kristy Krause (2000-2003)
87 - Tori Martella (2013-2016)
79 - Haley Shackelford (2011-2012)
NEBLETT ON TRACK FOR ATTACK PERCENTAGE RECORD
* Rachel Neblett finished second in UWF history in 2016 in attack percentage with a mark of .354. She currently owns an attack percentage of .401 in 2017. If maintained, this would be the all-time most efficient mark for a single-season in UWF history.
ATTACK PERCENTAGE (K/E/TA) (Minimum 500 attacks)
.376 (505/118/1028) - Kristy Krause (2003)
.354 (276/74/570) - Rachel Neblett (2016)
.348 (316/82/672) - Kathryn Torre (2016)
.333 (499/150/1082) - Isabela Gualberto (2007)
.329 (249/65/559) - Kathryn Torre (2015)
.326 (387/101/878) - Lindsay Homme (2011)
.319 (364/98/834) – Patricia Gandolfo (2008)
.316 (504/139/1155) - Kristy Krause (2002)
.305 (374/102/893) - Patricia Gandolfo (2009)
.303 (325/90/775) - Kara Gonzalez (2010)
.301 (394/116/924) - Luciana Rapach (2007)
.297 (318/112/693) - Ayana Stewart (2003)
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
* The Choctaws check into play at 10-14 on the season and 2-6 in GSC play. The team has lost six of its last eight matches and is 0-8 on the road this season.
* Mississippi College was selected to finish 11th in the preseason poll by GSC coaches. The team had no selections to the All-GSC team. Tessa Liljenquist and Hannah Rue were selected as the team's Top Newcomers.
* Holly Tupper, a former Mississippi College player and graduate assistant, is the interim head coach of the Choctaws.
* Mississippi College is tied for third in the GSC with 1.51 opponent blocks per set. The team ranks fourth in the GSC with 1.76 service aces per set.
* Kayana Mitchell is tied for seventh in the GSC with 0.86 blocks per set. Jill Brown is eighth in the conference with 3.91 digs per set.
* The Argos are 7-3 since 2001 vs. Mississippi College and have won six straight matches vs. the Choctaws dating back to 2014. During the six-match win streak, the team has not dropped a set.
SCOUTING WEST ALABAMA
* The Tigers check into play at 14-9 on the season and 6-1 in GSC play. The team has lost three of its last four matches overall but has suffered just one loss in conference play (at Lee, 3-2 Sep. 29). The team has won 12 straight conference sets since the loss. West Alabama is 2-1 in away matches so far this year.
* Alexis Meeks is in her second season as the head coach of the Tigers. She is an alum of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis where she earned Division I Summit League Setter of the Year Award.
* West Alabama was picked to finish eighth in the GSC in the preseason coaches' poll. Briana Sandifer was selected to the preseason all-GSC team. Bret Luther and Kassie Till were selected as the team's Top Newcomers.
* The Tigers are tied for third in the conference with a .216 hitting percentage and second in opponent hitting percentage of .144. The team is second in opponent assists per set with 12.99 assists per set and 9.80 opponent assists per set. The team ranks fifth in the conference 12.69 kills per set and is second with 10.63 opponent kills per set. The team is first in opponent blocks per set at 1.20 and third in opponent digs per set at 14.11.
* Taylor Donato is fifth in the conference with a .310 hitting percentage. Jaime Lancellot is sixth with a .295 hitting percentage. Briana Sandifer is fifth with a 3.61 kills per set and sixth with 4.07 points per set. Kassie Till is sixth in the conference with 7.78 assists per set.
* The Argos have won 16 straight matches vs. West Alabama dating back to 2003 and are 27-4 vs. West Alabama since 2001. The team is 14-1 at home since 2001 vs. West Alabama.
#ARGOS#
