Sept. 11, 2014
Live Stats vs. SMU | Live Stats at Arkansas | Live Stats vs. South Dakota | Twitter | #Seawolves
Fayetteville, Ark. – Winners of its last two matches, the Stony Brook volleyball team is heading to Arkansas for the Razorback Invitational. The Seawolves get underway Friday with a match vs. SMU and take on Arkansas and South Dakota Saturday at noon and 5:30 p.m., respectively.
Follow Along
Live stats for all matches will be provided by Arkansas at the links above. The @SBAthletics Twitter handle will periodically post updates. Remember to use the hashtag #Seawolves when tweeting about Stony Brook Athletics.
Last Time Out
Redshirt junior outside hitter Kathy Fletcher tallied match highs of 14 kills and six stuffs, and junior middle blocker Stephanie McFadden posted eight kills and hit .636 as Stony Brook (4-4) swept Fairfield in its home opener Tuesday night. Junior setter Nicole Vogel dished a contest-best 31 helpers, and redshirt junior libero Lo Hathaway led the match with 16 digs. Redshirt senior middle blocker Evann Slaughter and junior outside hitter Melissa Rigo had six kills apiece.
Series History vs. Opponents
The Seawolves will play South Dakota and Arkansas for the first time. They are 0-3 vs. SMU, most recently suffering a 3-0 setback in 2005.
Scouting SMU
The Mustangs (5-1) are riding a five-match winning streak and are receiving votes in the national poll. SMU is averaging 2.64 blocks per set, and sophomore middle blocker Janelle Giordano leads the team with 1.27 stuffs per stanza. Senior opposite hitter Caroline Young paces the offense with 79 kills, averaging 3.59 per set.
Scouting Arkansas
The host comes into the tournament with a 3-4 record having lost four straight matches. Senior Meredith Hays leads Arkansas in kills at 4.00 per frame. The Razorbacks average 2.59 blocks per set.
Scouting South Dakota
South Dakota (2-4) swept Tulane but fell to North Dakota twice at the University of North Dakota Tournament last Friday and Saturday. Senior outside hitter Kendall Kritenbrink is the Coyotes’ top offensive threat, averaging 3.91 kills per set. Senior defensive specialist Riley Haug is averaging 4.09 scoops per frame.
Go Rigo
Melissa Rigo has recorded double figures in kills in five of Stony Brook's first eight matches, including a 17-smack performance Saturday vs. Bucknell. She notched her third double-double of the year on a match-high 16 kills and 14 digs vs. Fairfield Friday night. The 2013 America East All-Academic selection and 2012 Rookie of the Year paces the Seawolves in kills (3.07/set) and is second in digs (2.14/set).
Perfect 10
Redshirt senior middle blocker Evann Slaughter performed well in her return to the court after missing the 2013 season with a torn ACL. She reached double figures in kills against DePaul (11) and Bradley (10) and averaged 2.08 kills per frame at the DePaul Invite. She followed that up by averaging 0.90 blocks per set at the Columbia Invitational on her way to All-Tournament honors. Slaughter, who has led Stony Brook in blocks in all three of her seasons, currently sits tied for fourth in school history with 218 career block assists and seventh with 295 total stuffs. She needs one block to tie Amy Oleksiej (2004-07) for sixth in program history in career blocks.
Get Lo
Redshirt junior libero Lo Hathaway broke the single-season school digs record last season with 553 digs and finished fifth in single-season program history in digs per set at 4.29. She had a match-high 16 scoops in Stony Brook’s win over Fordham Tuesday and leads the team with 2.96 digs per frame.
Happy Homecoming
West Chicago Ill., native Kathy Fletcher was named to the DePaul Invite All-Tournament Team for her efforts during Stony Brook’s opening weekend. Playing in front of a hometown crowd, Fletcher tied for a team best with 2.75 kills per set and was second in digs at 1.92 digs per set. She led Stony Brook in kills in both contests Saturday, Aug. 30 with 11 vs. Hampton and a match-high 18 vs. Bradley.
Fresh Faces
Stony Brook welcomes six promising freshmen to the fold as the program continues to grow under Coley Pawlikowski. Click on the bio links below for more on the newest Seawolves.
Melann Amory (Fr., OH/DS, 5-10)...................Center Valley, Pa./Southern Lehigh
Cydney Bowman (Fr., MB/OH, 5-11)………..Lake Mary, Fla./Lake Mary
Emily Costello (Fr./OH/6-2)……………………Webster, N.Y./Our Lady of Mercy
Abby Hickey (Fr., DS/OH, 5-6)…………………Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb
Dani Nizich (Fr., DS/S, 5-4)……………………..Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown East
Courtney Scanlan (Fr., MB/OH, 6-1)………...Salamanca, N.Y./Ellicotville
Fearless Leader
A rising star in the collegiate volleyball coaching ranks and a tenacious recruiter of student-athletes, Pawlikowski is a three-time recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 award. She was hired on January 16, 2013.
In her first year at the helm, Pawlikowski guided to Seawolves back to the America East Championship and mentored a pair of all-conference picks in Kaitlin Costello (first team) and Stephanie McFadden (second team). Stony Brook consistently ranked near the top of the country in aces per set, finishing the year 10th at 1.69. The Seawolves are also excelling off the court under her watch and were honored with their first AVCA Team Academic Award.
A tenacious recruiter, Pawlikowski added six promising Seawolves to the roster in her first full recruiting class as she looks to build a championship program. She served as the defensive position coach at Wisconsin, helping the Badgers lead the Big Ten in digs per set as a team and boast the individual digs champion.
Pawlikowski previously worked as the top assistant coach for her alma mater, Northern Illinois, from 2009-12, where she helped guide the Huskies to a 2011 Mid-American Conference regular season title and an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Up Next
Stony Brook welcomes Kennesaw State, Western Michigan and St. Francis-Brooklyn to Pritchard Gymnasium for the Seawolves Invite Presented by Islandia Marriott Long Island Sept. 19-20.
