MATCH NOTES
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Newman volleyball team opens its quest for the Heartland Conference championship Thursday evening with a trip to San Antonio to take on the St. Mary's Rattlers. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. inside Bill Greehey Arena.
Newman at St. Mary's
Thursday, Sept. 16 || 7 p.m. || Bill Greehey Arena || San Antonio, Texas || Live Stats || Live Audio
Newman brings a 3-6 record into Thursday's match after dropping three of four matches at last week's UNK Fall Classic in Kearney, Neb. The Jets rebounded from an opening-round loss to St. Cloud State to sweep Quincy, but dropped back-to-back matches to No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney and Mesa State, respectively, to close out the tournament.
The Jets are led offensively by Karol Marins, a 6-1 junior from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who has 71 kills this season, and is one of three Jets with more than 50 kills. Freshman Lyndsey Martini has been the one responsible for getting the ball to Marins, posting 167 set assists through nine games in 2010. Defensively, Amanda Savage has a team-high 82 digs this season to lead the Jets in that category
St. Mary's, meanwhile, brings an identical 3-6 record into the match after posting a 1-3 record last week at the Tarleton State tournament in Stephenville, Texas. St. Mary's knocked off Cameron (3-1), but dropped matches to Tarleton State (2-3), Texas A&M-Commerce (0-3) and Midwestern State (2-3). Kristen Chapman leads the Rattlers' offensive threats with 70 kills this season. The 5-11 junior is hitting at a .244 clip this season. Junior Stephanie Proske is right behind Chapman with 62 kills on 132 attempts and 17 errors, and leads the Heartland Conference with a .341 hitting percentage. Senior Kori McCarver has emerged as St. Mary's' primary setter, notching 215 assists, while Stephanie Flores has 145 digs as STMU's leading defensive player.
Rattler head coach Jenny Warmack-Chipman is in her first year as St. Mary's after spending 10 years as head coach at NCAA Div. III Muhlenberg College, where she posted 133 wins.
Newman at Texas A&M International
Saturday, Sept. 18 || 12 p.m. || Kinesiology Building || Laredo, Texas || Live Stats || Live Audio
The Jets conclude the first of three trips of Texas with a visit to Laredo to take on the Texas A&M International Dustdevils. TAMIU is winless this season, and has won just three of the 27 sets they have played. The Dustdevils' only set wins came in a 3-1 loss to Arkansas Tech, a 3-1 loss to Henderson State, and a 3-1 loss to Incarnate Word. The TAMIU offense relies on three hitters. Alexandria Montemayor (55 kills), Jacquelynne Matula (51 kills), and Tamare de Silva (50 kills), and hits at a Heartland Conference-worst .076 percentage as a team. Brittany Faison is the primary setter for the Dustdevils, posting 193 assists this season, while Clarissa Martinez is TAMIU's leading defensive player with 101 digs.
Dustdevil head coach Wendy McManus is in her fifth season at Texas A&M International, and is 47-75 in that time.
