Tournament Central
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. - The Argonauts travel to the Game Point Events Center in Orlando, Fla., to play in the annual SSC vs. GSC South Region Volleyball Crossover this weekend from October 20-21. Boasting the No. 1 seed in the Gulf South Conference with a 16-4 overall record and perfect 10-0 mark in conference play, No. 15 West Florida looks to build on its 13-game winning streak as it takes on tough competition in three fellow NCAA South Region schools and members of the Sunshine State Conference. 
 
Melissa Wolter's squad opens its slate when it plays SSC four-seed Nova Southeastern (11-6, 7-4 SSC) on Friday at 4:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. CT. It then takes on six-seed Florida Southern (11-6, 6-5 SSC) at 12:15 p.m. ET/11:15 a.m. CT before facing off with Tampa (17-0, 11-0 SSC), the conference's top seed and No. 3 team in the nation, in the final time slot at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT.
 
The SSC is the host for this year's event, as the GSC hosted the 2022 iteration in Hoover, Ala. Last season, the Argos suffered a setback to 3-1 Eckerd on Friday before coming back on the final day to sweep Nova Southeastern and defeat then-No. 17 Barry in five sets. UWF last went undefeated in the Crossover in 2021, when it won 35 games and earned a top seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. 
 
In addition to standings, UWF is No. 1 in the GSC in hitting percentage, kills and assists, and is in the top five in points, blocks and opponent hitting percentage. The Argonauts' offensive attack is led by three players in the top 10 of hitting percentage in the conference. Right side hitter Avery Rodgers is second only to Sanai Young of West Georgia with .357; she is also sixth in the conference with 216 kills and 2.96 per set. Middle hitters Jenna Zydlo is fifth in offensive output with .308, and Bailee Sterling comes in at eighth with .300. The two are also fifth and ninth in blocks with 66 total and 0.96 per set and 61 total and 0.85 per set, respectively. Libero Meg Brackhan ranks third in the GSC in digs with 317 and 4.28 per set. Outside hitter Annie Monaco is fifth in aces with 28 and 0.47 per set.  
 
Nova Southeastern boasts the second-leading SSC player in kills in Nadia Lindner, who has accumulated 225 and 4.02 per set. Additionally, Madison Cook is third in the conference with 442 assists and 9.82 per set. The Sharks are coached by Kacie Ehinger, in her second season with the team. UWF has won five of its six all-time contests with NSU, with the loss coming in the 2008 South Regional of the NCAA Tournament, and has come out on top against the Sharks in the last two Regional Crossovers. 
 
Florida Southern has the third- and fourth-place blockers in the SSC, as Emily Crescenzi and Madison Fowler both have an average of 1.11 per set. Fowler is also in sixth place in hitting percentage with .292, and Mackenzie Petermann is fifth in kills with 245 and 3.71 per set. Ashlee Crowder is in her first season coaching the Moccasins. FSC owns a 12-7 all-time record against the Argonauts, having won six matches in a row in the series before UWF broke the streak with a sweep in the 2021 Crossover. 
 
The stiffest challenge of the weekend comes in the form of Tampa, who places first in the stacked SSC in points, kills, hitting percentage, assists, digs and opponent hitting percentage, as well as in the top three in blocks and aces. The top two SSC players in hitting percentage are both Spartans, as Jenna Davis occupies the top spot with .441 with Mackenzie Dufresne trailing just behind at .424. They are also sixth and seventh, respectively, in blocks, with 53 and 1.08 per frame and 54 and 1.06 per frame. At the helm of the Tampa program is Chris Catanach, who has made the Spartans into one of the winningest programs in all of Division II, boasting an all-time record of 1,169-216 throughout his 40 seasons as head coach. Tampa has won 17 of 22 matchups with UWF. The Argos' last wins over the Spartans came in a 2017 sweep of games in the Colorado Premier Challenge and the South Regional.  
 
See the Tournament Central link above for live stats and video. Please visit GoArgos.com or follow the program at @UWFVolleyball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to follow the action.