PENSACOLA, Fla. - West Florida (21-7, 13-1 GSC) embarks on its final road trip of the regular season for two matches in Tennessee with the opportunity to clinch the top seed in the GSC and host the conference tournament firmly in sight.
The Argos, ranked No. 17 in the coaches' poll and No. 7 in the NCAA South Region Rankings, need just one more win this week to lock up home court advantage. UWF plays its last two games before the postseason in Tennessee, as it travels to Memphis to take on Christian Brothers (2-24, 1-13 GSC) on Friday at 6 pm before heading up I-40 to Jackson for a match with Union (6-23, 5-9 GSC).
Despite missing a chance to lay claim to hosting in its match at the No. 3 GSC team in Auburn Montgomery last Friday, UWF still owns the top spot with a one-game lead and head-to-head result over No. 2 Alabama Huntsville. The Argos are the best in the conference in points, hitting percentage, assists, kills, opponent aces and opponent digs.
Several Argos continue to climb up the conference leaderboards, as middle hitters
Jenna Zydlo and
Bailee Sterling are third and fifth in the GSC in hitting percentage with .313 on 202 kills and .310 on 212 kills, respectively. Eighth and tenth place in blocks also goes to Sterling and Zydlo, respectively, with 0.79 and 0.77 per set. Freshman setter
Gabi Moulton is still putting up eye-opening performances as she sits in fifth in assists with 102 total and 6.37 per set. Outside hitter
Annie Monaco is third in production from behind the service line with 41 aces for a 0.48 average in 86 sets of action. Libero
Meg Brackhan continues to do yeoman's work on the back line, scooping 419 total attacks and 4.03 per set to come in fourth in the GSC in digs.
The two opponents for this weekend are both playing UWF and AUM as their final slate of games for the season. Both Tennessee programs are outside the top eight GSC teams, with CBU at No. 12 and Union at No. 9, putting them out of the running for the GSC Championship regardless of results this weekend. The teams enter the weekend with nothing to lose looking to close their season on a high note.
The Lady Bucs' lone victories in 2023 have come against West Alabama, the No. 10 squad in the GSC with a 6-24 record, and 1-26 Arkansas-Monticello. The Lady Bulldogs have five wins in GSC play, but just one over a team eligible for the postseason in sixth-place Mississippi College. With a sweep of CBU in tow, the other wins have come against 6-23 Kentucky Wesleyan, 6-20 Shorter and West Alabama. The Argos have three combined losses in their history to the programs, as they own a 22-2 record against Christian Brothers and a 17-1 mark against Union.
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