Volleyball | 9/8/2022 2:49:00 PM

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University volleyball program will face a gauntlet of talented opponents inside the USM Wellness Center this weekend as it faces off against three squads with a combined winning percentage of 0.842 (16-3).

What You Need to Know:
 

• Time and Date (Stephen F. Austin): Friday, September 9, 2022 (12 p.m.)

 

• Time and Date (Houston Baptist): Friday, September 9, 2022 (3 p.m.)

 

• Time and Date (Southern Miss): Saturday, September 10, 2022 (3 p.m.)

 

• Video (Southern Miss Only): https://www.espn.com/espnplus/player/_/id/f98de2b0-4dc8-4ced-9954-757e13ec934b (ESPN+)

 

• Audio: N/A

 

• Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=422191

 

• Tickets: https://southernmisstickets.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventList?groupCode=VBST&linkID=usm&shopperContext=&caller=&appCode=

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-3, 0-0 SWAC) | Stephen F. Austin (7-0, 0-0 WAC) | Houston Baptist (4-2, 0-0 Southland) | Southern Miss (5-1, 0-0 Sun Belt)

 

• Location: Hattiesburg, Mississippi – USM Wellness Center

 

• Stephen F. Austin Series History: First Meeting

 

• Houston Baptist Series History: Houston Baptist Leads 2-0

 

• Southern Miss Series History: Southern Miss Leads 2-0

 

• Stephen F. Austin Last Meeting: First Meeting

 

• Houston Baptist Last Meeting: September 1, 2017 | Houston Baptist 3, Mississippi Valley State 0 | Lafayette, Louisiana (Earl K. Long Gymnasium)

 

• Southern Miss Last Meeting: August 27, 2021 | Southern Miss 3, Mississippi Valley State 0 | Hattiesburg, Mississippi (USM Wellness Center)

 

• Winning Streak (Stephen F. Austin): First Meeting

 

• Winning Streak (Houston Baptist): Houston Baptist (W2) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Win: N/A

 

• Winning Streak (Southern Miss): Southern Miss (W2) | Mississippi Valley State's Last Win: N/A

 

• All-Time History vs. WAC Opponents (Stephen F. Austin): WAC Leads 3-0

 

• All-Time History vs. Southland Opponents (Houston Baptist): Southland Leads 21-0

 

• All-Time History vs. Sun Belt Opponents (Southern Miss): Sun Belt Leads 17-1
   

Mississippi Valley State Overview:

Coach Prince's ladies currently have held their three opponents to a collective hitting percentage of 0.229, good for the fourth-lowest mark in the conference.
 
Graduate student Destini Banks will participate in her 100th career match as a Devilette on Friday, spanning 291 sets and five seasons in Itta Bena.
 
Tyler Caliste is the only individual to crack the SWAC's top-ten in a particular category, ranking eighth for service aces per set (0.33) on top of leading Valley in most offensive statistics including points (16.0), kills (12), and aces (3).
 
Mikayla Lee has been the club's best assister, contributing 20 (2.22 per set) while hitting at a team-high clip of 0.231.
 
Mallory Lamport and Chariah Mabry have taken the reins defensively, averaging 2.25 digs per set (18 total) and totaling four blocks to lead the team, respectively.
 
Scouting The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks:
 
SFA has been on a tear to begin the 2022 season, ripping through its first seven opponents unscathed by defeating big name programs such as DePaul, SMU, North Texas, South Alabama, and Tulsa as well as UC Irvine and McNeese. They are one of only 28 teams in Division I to be undefeated heading into the weekend.
 
The Ladyjacks have taken pride in both sides of the net, ranking seventh nationally in digs per set (18.27), 14th regarding kills per set (14.38), and top-30 for assists per set (12.88).
 
Haley Hoang is second only to Iona's Hope Matschner (6.96) in digs per set, recording six digs per set on average for the Purple and White.
 
Ielan Bradley is the scorer for Stephen F. Austin, topping the team with 96.5 points (3rd in WAC) and Izabella Ortiz is the efficient attacker with a hitting percentage of 0.370 to rank second leaguewide.
 
Scouting The Houston Baptist Huskies:
 
Houston Baptist has four wins on the year and three of those have come against HBCUs, sweeping Texas Southern twice and downing Bethune-Cookman.
 
The Blue and Orange are the best in the Southland at kills per set (13.38), assists per set (12.19) and team hitting percentage (0.261) to go along with a top-five placement in digs per set (14.90).
 
Setter Grace McLaughlin is one of the best in the nation during the first six contests, contributing 10.38 helpers on average, primarily to Anna Gadway who is second in the conference for kills per set (3.57).
 
The Devilettes backline will need to be alert when Audrey Pearce is serving as she has gotten an ace practically every other serve so far (0.52).
 
Scouting The Southern Miss Lady Eagles:
 
The Black and Gold have taken care of business through six matches, winning five with its lone blemish coming at Alabama.
 
The Lady Eagles are a dangerous club behind the service line, watching 2.09 aces drop to the floor per set, a top-40 mark in the NCAA.
 
Southern Miss' offense runs directly through the powerful swings of Mia Wesley. The defending Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week has been incredible for USM, slotting fourth nationally in kills (5.27) and points per set (6.14), plus ranking in the top-35 with 13 service aces.

Follow the Mississippi Valley State women's volleyball program on Twitter (@ValleyStateVB) and Instagram (@ValleyStateVB).

Follow the Delta Devils and Devilettes on Facebook (Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@ValleyStateAthletics).