TOURNAMENT BRACKET
STATS | VIDEO

PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF volleyball will host the Gulf South Conference tournament this weekend in the UWF Field House. The tournament will begin Friday at 4:00 p.m. and run through the championship match Sunday at 2:00 p.m. As the conference regular season champions, West Florida will have a bye through the tournament's first day and will begin play Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in the day's first semifinal vs. the winner of the first round matchup between Alabama Huntsville and Shorter.

The Argos are coming off the best conference season in program history, in which they went a perfect 16-0 in GSC matches. The tournament will also feature the second-seeded North Alabama Lions, whom the Argos have met in each of the last two GSC tournament finals. The Argos defeated UNA 3-1 in Florence Sept. 22 and 3-2 at home on Oct. 10. The rest of the field consists of third-seeded West Alabama, fourth-seeded Alabama Huntsville, fifth-seeded Shorter and sixth-seeded Lee.

GSC TOURNAMENT HISTORY

* West Florida will appear in its 15th consecutive GSC Tournament, which stands as the second longest streak in the conference. North Alabama is making its 36th-straight showing in 2017.
* This will be the eighth time that the Argos will host the GSC Tournament.
* UWF is aiming for its seventh GSC Championship, and its first since 2013. West Florida collected six consecutive titles from 2008-2013.
* West Florida is 20-8 all-time in the GSC Tournament, owning a .714 winning percentage.
* UWF's .714 winning percentage and 20 total wins are second most in conference history, trailing only UNA (77-24 all-time, .762 winning percentage).
* The Argos have no All-GSC Tournament selections from 2016 returning this year, but senior setter Monique StCyr was an All-GSC Tournament selection in 2015

AGAINST THE FIELD

* West Florida went 8-0 this season against the rest of the field in this year's tournament. Four of those wins came at home and four came on the road.
* The Argonauts limited tournament qualifiers to a .135 hitting percentage this season while posting a .281 hitting percentage themselves. The Argos posted 52 service aces vs. the field this regular season while allowing just 20.
* Rachel Neblett hit .431 against tournament qualifiers this season, posting 102 kills over 28 sets vs. teams appearing in the tournament.
* The Argos registered 94 blocks vs. tournament qualifiers this year. Neblett led the way in that category, averaging 1.00 blocks per set.
* Monique StCyr posted 11.00 assists per set this regular season vs. the rest of the field.

HOME EXCELLENCE

* With an undefeated record at home against conference opponents, UWF has posted its eighth consecutive regular season without a loss to a conference opponent at the UWF Field House.
* UWF currently rides a 70-match winning streak at home against conference opponents in the regular season, dating back to its last home GSC loss on Oct. 24, 2009 against North Alabama.

ALL-GSC HONOREES

* UWF volleyball earned plenty of postseason recognition Monday as Melissa Wolter was named GSC Coach of the Year, Logan Kael was selected as the GSC Co-Freshman of the Year, and Monique StCyr, Rachel Neblett, Jordyn Poppen and Nadine Williams earned All-GSC honors.
* The Coach of the Year honor for Wolter is the fourth of her tenure at UWF. She previously earned the honor in 2008, 2010 and 2011. The 16-0 mark in regular season conference play is the best record of her time as head coach of UWF. Wolter's teams have continued to dominate conference play. Since 2003, her teams are 184-24 in the GSC.
* Kael, the reigning GSC Freshman and Defensive Player of the Week, was named Co-Freshman of the Year with Kassie Till of West Alabama. The Freshman of the Year honor is the first for UWF in program history. Kael ranks sixth in the GSC with 4.13 digs per set. She has two matches of 30 or more digs this season. She has won two GSC Defensive Player of the Week honors this year and three GSC Freshman of the Week honors. She is the only player in program history to win the Gulf South Freshman of the Week award multiple times in the same season.
* StCyr made the fourth All-GSC honors of her illustrious career. The all-time assists leader in UWF history has continued to star this season. She currently ranks second in the GSC with 9.80 assists per set. She has posted a .309 hitting percentage this year, the best mark of her career. She has also posted 24 service aces this year. StCyr previously earned second-team All-GSC honors in 2014 and first-team honors in 2015 and 2016. She joins Autumn Duyn as the only players in program history to earn All-GSC honors in four different years.
* Neblett earned All-GSC honors for the second straight season. The senior was a second team All-GSC selection in 2016. She has posted a remarkable 2017 campaign. She currently ranks first in the GSC in hitting percentage (.427) and service aces per set (0.46). She ranks sixth in the conference with 3.43 kills per set and 0.93 blocks per set. She ranks fifth with 4.43 points per set. She is the 15th player in UWF history to win All-GSC honors in two different seasons. If maintained, her .427 hitting percentage would be the highest in a single season in UWF history and the fifth-highest percentage in GSC history.
* Poppen rounded out the UWF's first team All-GSC selections. Poppen has enjoyed a breakout campaign that has included one GSC Offensive Player of the Week award. She currently ranks eighth in the conference with a .290 hitting percentage and 2.93 kills per set. She has posted ten or more kills in 13 different matches this season, including a season-high 19 on two different occasions.
* Newcomer Nadine Williams earned her first All-GSC selection as part of the second team. The Santa Fe College transfer has posted excellent numbers in her debut West Florida season. She has started 30 matches and averaged 2.57 kills per set while hitting .194. She has posted ten or more kills in 12 different matches this season, including a season-high 19 vs. Tampa September 9.

NATIONAL/REGIONAL RANKINGS

* UWF volleyball program maintained its No. 3 position in the third edition of the NCAA Division II South Region Rankings as announced on Wednesday.
* UWF is 26-6 on the season and is ranked 19th in the AVCA DII Top-25 poll. The Argonauts have 19 in-region wins and the fourth-highest strength of schedule in the region.
* The regional ranking for UWF is its highest since entering the 2012 tournament as the South Region's No. 2 seed.
*  For the second straight week, Florida Southern remained the region's top team. Palm Beach Atlantic, ranked No. 1 in the region's initial rankings, remained at No. 2. North Alabama checked into the rankings at No. 4 followed by Saint Leo, Tampa and Eckerd. The final three spots in the poll are occupied by GSC programs in Lee, Alabama-Huntsville and Shorter.

STCYR PURSUES SERVICE ACES RECORD

* Monique StCyr has posted 25 service aces in the 2017 season, drawing her within five 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 1078 this season. She is the first Argo to eclipse 4,000 assists in a career.

UWF CAREER SERVICE ACES
165 - Jessica Bragion (2002-2005)
160 - 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 .427 in 2017. If maintained, this would be the all-time most efficient mark for a single-season in UWF history. Neblett is also on track to break the career attack percentage mark. Entering the weekend, she has maintained a .351 career mark, which would eclipse the record currently held by current graduate assistant coach Kathryn Torre (.340).

SINGLE SEASON 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)

ARGOS PURSUE TEAM ATTACK PERCENTAGE RECORD

* 2017 will prove to be one of the most efficient attacking seasons in UWF history. The squad currently owns a .262 attack percentage for the 2017 season, a mark that puts them just ahead of  the 2016 squad, which finished with the second-most efficient season in school history. If the pace is maintained, the program will enjoy its best back-to-back attack percentage seasons in school history.  

ATTACK PERCENTAGE, K/E/TA

.264 (1699/590/4199) (2003)
.260 (1791/585/4640) (2016)
.254 (1924/693/4855) (2010)
.248 (2167/780/5590) (2007)
.247 (1812/634/4761) (2012)
.244 (1687/611/4366) (2011)
.241 (1783/649/4713) (2008)
.236 (1498/568/3939) (2014)
.233 (1638/624/4357) (2015)
.233 (1769/677/4696) (2009)
.233 (1584/615/4152) (2002)
.220 (1812/711/5014) (2013)

#ARGOS#