The SFA Volleyball Blog is in its second season as a feature of SFAJacks.com for the 2010-11 year. Assistant director of media relations Ben Rikard will update this space throughout the Ladyjacks' 2010 campaign. Ben has been the contact for SFA volleyball since joining the media relations team in 2007. The blog will feature content that doesn't quite fit in with the traditional means of reporting found on our department's Web site and will encourage fan feedback and interaction. Some highlights to look forward to are: live chats following the action from select games, fan polls and contests, guest-blogger appearances by SFA players and coaches and the potential for live chats with head coach Debbie Humphreys. So check in frequently and be sure to contact Ben (rikardbenja@sfasu.edu) with any ideas you may have for how to improve this Web site feature.
2009 SFA Volleyball Blog entries
Oct.12, 2010
Player Blog: Laurel Kuepker
Posted by Ben Rikard • 1:36 p.m.
Record: 9-12 (2-4 SLC)
I decided to do a two-week review instead of the customary weekly entry because it's difficult to write a lot about two home games. We don't go on shopping trips or have team dinners, so a lot of the stories I rely on for these blogs are not as prevalent. Anyway, I have a lot to cover now, so let's get started. Way back on September 30th, we hosted UT-San Antonio. We came out strong but could not put a complete match together and ended up dropping the match. That Saturday we hoped to rebound when we took on the Islanders of TAMU-CC. Both teams played hard, but we were unable to stop their outside Emma Ridley and put any of our own offense together, which resulted in another "L" on the season.
After a disappointing week, we got back in the gym to try to make sure those type of losses didn't happen again. On October 6th, we traveled to Huntsville to take on those pesky Bearkats of Sam Houston. We made the trip to downtown like usual and had about fifteen minutes to look around. We made it to one antique shop, and then it was time to get back on the bus. We ate at Golden Corral, another Huntsville-trip mainstay, for our pre-game meal. When we got to the gym, we were treated to a nice chalk note that said, "Welcome to the Real Johnson Coliseum." With a little more motivation, we got ready to play. We always listen to music before we play, but this day was different. Coach was in there with us and wanted to learn some of the dances, so we tried to teach her the "bunny hop," and she tried to teach us the hustle. After our dance off, we took the court for a five-set battle. We made too many untimely errors and dropped the match. We played much better than we had the previous matches, but it was still a difficult loss to take. We went to Wendy's after the match for our post-game meal. It took forever! They had run out of potatoes and didn't have any ice. Since it took so long, so we didn't leave Huntsville until 11. Luckily, it's a short drive, so we made it back around 12:45.
After taking a tough loss against SHSU, we got back in the gym to fix some of the problems before taking on Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday. Apparently it worked because we finally swept someone! Now we're back on track and ready to take on the rest of the Southland opponents.
Sidenote: We have brand new lights in Shelton Gym that are motion-activated that will be utilized when that gym becomes the new home once again of SFA volleyball.
We'll be on the road this week, taking on UTA on Thursday evening and Texas State Saturday afternoon.
Axe `em, Jacks!
Random facts:
- Upper and lower case letters are named 'upper' and 'lower' because in the time when all original print had to be set in individual letters, the upper case' letters were stored in the case on top of the case that stored the smaller, 'lower case' letters.
- The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law, which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb
- The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.
Wed., Sept. 29, 2010
Player Blog: Laurel Kuepker
Posted by Ben Rikard • 9:31 a.m.
Record: 8-9 (1-1)
This week we opened Southland Conference play on the road with matches at Northwestern State and Central Arkansas. We left on Thursday at around 12:30 for Natchitoches and had an early passing time, so we went straight to the gym. After our 30 minutes on the court, we headed to Trail Boss, which is where we eat every time we go to NSU. Their food is really good, so we don't complain. After our pre-game meal, we had some time to kill, so we went to Goodwill. MC was convinced she was going to find a dress that she had seen there last year. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), she couldn't find it. There were a lot of fun things to try on, and some people did end up buying a few things. After the mini shopping trip, we got loaded back on the bus and headed back to the gym.
If you recall from last year's blog about this trip, the Demons had a bit of a bat problem. This year, the match was bat-free. Coach B didn't need to hold his clipboard like a bat to beat away the swooping and diving creatures. One unfortunate thing happened during warm-up and that was Ben's computer took a shot to the screen by an errant ball hit by a Lady Demon.
Sorry, Ben. It wasn't our fault this time.
Anyway, Northwestern's slogan is Fork `Em. Now, when loud hecklers are yelling that, it sounds like another four-letter word, which we found to be extremely funny. We kept asking, "What are they saying?!" Coach John, especially, thought it was really funny. (Maybe we should've let them borrow your book, Coach J). Anyhow, we actually did play a match that night. We came out strong the first set and beat them easily. It got a little more difficult as the night progressed, but we ended up beating them in four. Our record against NSU is 41-0 now since Coach Humphreys has been here. After the match, we went to Wendy's or Popeye's, we had the choice. The dining area of Wendy's closed early, so we just walked through the drive-thru. I think the employees were annoyed with us, but they shouldn't have closed early. We drove back to Nacogdoches and got home around midnight.
The next day, the girls had practice in the early afternoon. I wasn't able to go because I was at Central Heights still. We met at 3:30 in the back lot of the Coliseum to head up to Conway. It's about a five-and-a-half hour trip up there, so we have plenty of time to watch movies. Some of you may be surprised that coach LOVES the movie Wedding Crashers and wanted to watch it. We ended up watching it on the way back Saturday night. The hotel we stayed at in Conway was pretty new, so it was a lot nicer than what we used to stay in when we went to play Central Arkansas.
We got to sleep in the next morning, since our match wasn't until two in the afternoon. That morning some of the girls were treated to the Missouri State men's soccer team already in the lobby. They happened to be playing Central Arkansas that day as well. I think it's safe to say that the girls were extremely happy to see them. Anyway, after our pre-game meal at Cracker Barrel, we headed to the gym. Central Arkansas has a really over-the-top introduction. They shut off the lights and have a spot light and glow sticks. It's pretty intense. Well, Maddie loved it and basically went crazy, running around us because "nobody could see [her]." We ended up losing in four to the Sugar Bears, unfortunately. After the match, we got pizza to go and started the long trip back to East Texas.
On the way back, we stopped at a gas station. Maddie wanted to buy this ridiculous armadillo bank for her boyfriend, Trent. It was forty dollars, though, so she passed. We got home around 9:30 Saturday night.
We play UTSA this Thursday at 7 and Corpus Christi on Saturday at 2! Come out to Johnson Coliseum to watch us play!
Axe'em, Jacks!
Random Facts:
- Baloo, from the Jungle Book movie is a Sloth bear.
- Even though bears and pigs are NOT related, the same names, "boar" for the males and "sow" for the females are used.
- Koalas look like they could belong to the bear family and are often called bears, but they are, in fact, marsupials.
Mon., Sept. 20, 2010
Player Blog: Laurel Kuepker
Posted by Ben Rikard • 2:03 p.m.
Record: 7-8
The team left Thursday afternoon for Rice because they had a 6pm practice time. I came down with Shannon and the girls again after I got out of school. We had another early-morning match this weekend, this time against Samford University. We won the match in four sets. It seemed like more random people than usual were asking us who we were and who we played during the tournament. I think every single one of them thought we said we beat STANFORD in four. Nice compliment, but not quite the same school. Every meal we ate was in Rice Village where there is tons of shopping. Every free moment it seemed like the girls were off shopping. MC was super excited to see they had an Urban Outfitters. There was also a Chocolate Bar that Ari, Kelsey, and I went to...obviously.
We got back on the charter with our bus driver (Dilbert, Delbert, Gilbert?? We were confused the entire time) and headed back to the gym to get ready for our match against Arkansas State at 5pm. Before the match, Maddie gave us a treat when she did a dance to the song Jai-Ho from Slumdog Millionaire. I think it was completely improvised. Arkansas State is now the home of former Ladyjack Lauren "L.A." (Adams) Lanford. She e-mailed Coach that she may wear red, but she still bleeds purple. We took care of the Red Wolves in three! It was amazing to have such a short match.
After our win, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. It took forever! I think my table of Ari, Kelsey, Alberta, and Lindsey Brunt were some of the first ones to get our food, and it took an hour. Coach, Monica, and Lindsay Hill's food took about two hours. The upside? Our bill was 50 percent off. Coach said it was the cheapest meal we've had. After dinner we ran across the street to TCBY for ice cream. Everyone gets so excited for ice cream, if you remember from the video blog from Iowa last week.
The next day we got to sleep in. We didn't have to leave until 11:30 for pre-game at Le Madeline. That morning former Ladyjack Sydney Milburn came to visit our hotel before she had to go to work. Kelsey tried to give her directions to the hotel but couldn't describe any landmarks by the hotel. Our hotel was right next to Reliant Stadium; you could see it from the window by the elevators. After clarifying for Kelsey which sport and which team played there, we had it under control. It was nice to see Syd, and she came to pre-game meal with us. We played Rice at three. They had an early last match because there was a home football game versus Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). We had a lot of purple in the crowd which was nice considering it wasn't a home match. One of our old trainers, Javet, was in the crowd to cheer us on as well. The Rice match really didn't go our way. We got swept but did manage to land two on the all-tournament team: Maddie and MC.
Well, the pre-conference season is over, and conference gets under way this Thursday against Northwestern State. We then travel to Conway, Ark., to take on the Sugar Bears on Saturday at 2pm. Our first home conference game is Thursday, September 30th against UTSA.
Axe `Em, Jacks!
Random Facts:
Wed., Sept. 15, 2010
Video Blog: Drake Tournament
Posted by Ben Rikard • 10:58 p.m.
So, we at SFA Athletics got some new toys to play with, and one of the first things that happens was that Laurel Kuepker stole one ... well, not exactly. I gave her one for the weekend and turned her loose on the state of Iowa.
Dangerous, I know, but she's a senior so I figured she could be responsible with such a nice piece of video equipment. Luckily she got the camera back to me, sans the bag. Oh well, I'm sure we can find something else to suffice as a travel pouch.
So take a look at what they came up with. Of course it's a little compressed through the magic of basic video editing, but definitely entertaining. Especially when Lindsay Hill gets locked out of the restaurant. You'll see.
Tues., Sept. 6, 2010
Player Blog: Kelsey Owens
Posted by Ben Rikard • 12:52 p.m.
Record: 2-5
We started off our weekend with a LONG nine-hour drive Thursday morning at 7am. We all slept until lunch in Oklahoma at Subway. We get to our hotel to find free suckers that everyone enjoyed took advantage of all weekend. Practice started at 6 so we headed over to shocker coliseum. This coliseum was huge with crazy bright lights. After practice we went out to dinner at Cheddars. It was delicious and we all had to control ourselves from ordering the cookie monster for dessert.
Friday morning we got to sleep in a little bit because we didn't play until 12. We ate the hotel breakfast then headed to the gym. First match was against the Pilots. We won the first two sets and then the Pilots came back to win the next three very closely. We had an amazing blocking game, out blocking them 20-6. We also got to save a few swings because we were scoring pretty easily with our middle box shots/tips. After the game we ate a quick lunch at Panera Bread then went to the hotel for like an hour and headed back to the gym. Our pregame for the Wichita State game was pretty funny. Maddie started screaming on top of the chairs and made everyone else stand on the chairs and chant with her. We were singing the "Who Rocks The House" chant veryyyyyy loud for a long time! We were ready to start the game and just go out to play our hardest. Of course we got to be their home opener because everyone likes to play us first. They had a lot of fans there and a huge Shocker mascot that made us all laugh! MC was out of the game with a strained ab and I had been sick from an upper respiratory infection all weekend. The freshmen underclassman really stepped up and played well. They ended up winning the match in three, but it was fun to play a team ranked in the top-25. They were a good team with a quick offense and some amazing bullet serves. After the match we went to Jimmy Johns for yet ANOTHER quick sandwich to go.
Saturday morning, we started off the day with waffles from our fancy hotel breakfast again and then headed to the gym. We played the Pilots again and ended up losing in three. We had Chipotle for lunch and then got on the road for another nine-hour drive. The scores from this tournament might say that it was a very long weekend but we did do a lot of good things and still have a lot to improve on for the week. We are going to put it all together in practice this week and get ready to win a tournament in Iowa.
Axe `em `Jacks
Tues., Aug. 31, 2010
Player Blog: Laurel Kuepker
Posted by Ben Rikard • 10:29 a.m.
Record: 1-2
This Baylor trip was the first time I didn't get to travel with the girls on the bus to the playing site. The Thursday they left, I had student teaching then a test immediately afterwards. When I got out of my test, I went to the Coliseum to say bye to the team. It was actually kind of sad watching all the girls get on the bus getting ready to leave when I was just going back to my apartment. The next day after school, Shannon (Mrs. Coach B) picked me up at the Coliseum, and we drove to Waco with their two daughters. When we got to the Ferrell Center, it was crowded; the student section line was wrapping around the hall. There was already a nice size crowd in the arena, and the score was 13-12 good guys. The game went back and forth until we finally put the last point away to take game one, 28-26. I think the first-game loss woke Baylor up because they stepped up their level of play, but we made more errors to help them out as well. We ended up dropping the match 3-1. Afterwards, we went to Jason's Deli for post-game and went back to the Holiday Inn. As it turned out, Allison and I had a suite. Allison and I have been lucky with that. Last year, she, Maddie, Ari, and I shared a huge suite up in DeKalb, Illinois for the NIU tournament.
The next morning was an early start since we had a 10 AM match with Butler. Yes, Butler is the team that played Duke last year in the NCAA men's basketball championship. They are from Indianapolis. Anyway, we took the first two games from Butler, but they were close each time. At 25-24 Butler in the third game, the ref decided now would be a good time to make a very iffy double-contact call on Allison. When he blew the whistle and made the call, everyone stopped, even Butler. They didn't even really celebrate even though they had just won the third game. We switched sides and got ready for the next game. The fourth game didn't start off well for us. We gave them four points right out of the gate. We started to build momentum at the end of the game that carried over to the fifth. Last year, we had problems winning 5-set matches, but this outcome was different with us taking game five 15-12 and the 3-2 win over Butler. Also worth noting: MC set a career high in kills with 23, and Maddie set a career best in digs with 27. For lunch, we went to Chilis on campus. They had our food out so quickly. That was kind of a theme for the weekend. Every place we went had our orders ready for us when we got there. Kelsey and I went to Starbucks after that. Kelsey started off with coffee but ended up with about two parts cream and one part coffee. She got a little carried away with the half and half. It was also Maddie's mom's birthday on Saturday. For her birthday, Maddie decided to splatter ice cream and knock over a glass at the table in Chilis. Happy birthday, Mrs. Hanlan.
Our last match of the tournament was against SMU. They had just come off a big 5-game win over Baylor and seemed to have carried that momentum over to our match. They beat us in three straight sets. MC was named to the all-tournament team and got a shirt as her award. After the match, the quick service continued at McAllister's where they were waiting for us and ready to go.
Not a bad start to the season, and we're ready to take some more steps forward as the season progresses.
Come watch us take on the University of Louisiana-Monroe on Tuesday night at the Coliseum at 7 PM. There will be a Ladyjack poster signing session after the match.
Next weekend, we will have a guest writer because Ari and I will not be traveling to Wichita State with the team.
AXE `EM, JACKS!
Since I'm currently teaching Texas history at Central Heights Junior High, I figured some Texas facts would be appropriate.
AXE `EM, JACKS!
Random facts:
- Texas leads the nation in the production of spinach. Zavala County's Crystal City is the spinach capital of the world.
- Dimmit County is one of three counties in Texas with its name misspelled by law. Dimmit County was named for Philip Dimmitt, a hero of the Texas Revolution. The others are Motley County (Dr. J. W. Mottley) and Collingsworth County (James Collinsworth).
- The Texan artillery consisted mainly of cannons captured from retreating Mexican soldiers. When cannonballs ran low, the fighters would collect used Mexican cannonballs to use again.
Sat., Aug. 28, 2010
SFA vs SMU Live Chat
Posted by Ben Rikard • 4:27 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 28, 2010
SFA vs Butler Live Chat
Posted by Ben Rikard • 9:18 a.m.
Thurs., Aug. 26, 2010
Join us live from Waco
Posted by Ben Rikard • 2:16 p.m.
OK guys, it's finally that time. Yes, the first match of the season is upon us and SFAJacks.com and SFAVolleyblog.net will be there courtside as the Ladyjacks open up the 2010 season at the Baylor Classic against the Baylor Bears, a Sweet 16 team from a year ago.
Since we are going to be there, we feel as though it is only fair to open up the lines of communication and let the rest of you that cannot be there to join into our first volleyball live chat of the season. Some of you may remember them from last year, and we managed to use them for the majority of our sports last season. It's easy, and you can access it just below this text.
Also, the chat is phone friendly as anyone with a smartphone can just pull up the chat and follow along from the palm of your hand. That proves to be quite convenient for those of you who will be in the Ferrell Center seats. So feel free to chime in at any time and we'll see you in Waco tomorrow. First serve is set for 6:30 pm against the Bears, so look for the chat to begin about 6:15 pm. We will have a separate chat for each of the three matches of the tourney.
Axe `em
Tues., Aug. 24, 2010
Player Blog: Laurel Kuepker
Posted by Ben Rikard • 11:38 a.m.
First blog of the year! I just wanted to get this first one out, so I can explain a little about what the blogs will be like this season. There will still be random facts because I want to prove that I know more random trivia than Ben. Something that will be a little different is that we will have "guest speakers" from time to time. Between my back injury and student teaching, there will be times when I won't be traveling with the girls. In those cases, one of my teammates will be volunteered to write about the trip. It'll be a good opportunity to let you guys hear from different girls on the team and their perspectives on road trips.
Well those are the basics, so let's get to the preseason. First, we were all pretty excited about our new jackets. I know it sounds lame, but to us, they are legit. They are Mizuno half zip-ups with an Angry Axe on the front and SFA on the back. Also new to this preseason is the incorporation of a pool workout as part of our conditioning routine. MC is a good swimmer. Sabrina is the...opposite. I'm not sure what happens in the pool, but I think she should stick to being a MB. Our five freshmen and Carrie (high jumper extraordinaire) have stepped in nicely. They all have a great work ethic and bring a competitiveness to practice every day. They did not enjoy the ice baths, however. A lot of people don't, but some of us crazy ones love them. They really do refresh our legs, but 52 degree water can still be difficult to jump into at first.
I want to kill two birds with one stone by telling two preseason stories and welcoming new coach John Critzer and graduate student trainer Clint Staub to the SFA team blog. The first is as follows: One practice, the girls were doing run-throughs as punishment, and MC decided to use her foot to play a ball. Instead of going off in any other direction or going to target, the ball ricocheted straight back to Coach J's face. It hit him square in the nose from about three feet away, if that. No one has ever laughed that much during run-throughs as MC, her group, and those that got to see it. The other story just happened today at practice. Clint tried to be athletic and dodge a ball by jumping out of the way. Unfortunately for him, he lost his footing and fell. Good job, Captain. Again, anyone who saw it laughed at him. So, Clint and Coach J, welcome to the blog. No one is safe; keep that in mind.
Two-a-day practices are over, and the season is about to begin.
SFA - ON A MISSION (OAM)
We open up the season at Baylor at 6:30 PM this Friday.
Saturday's matches include SMU and Butler (shout-out Indiana).
AXE `EM, JACKS!
Random facts:
- Nine flags of Nacogdoches: the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of France, the Mexican Republic, the Lone Star Flag of the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, the Stars and Stripes of the United States, the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition, the Long Republic, and the Republic of Fredonia.
- The first toilet being flushed in a motion picture was in the movie Psycho.
- The word ''set'' has more definitions than any other word in the English language.
Tues., Aug. 10, 2010
It's that time of year again ...
Posted by Ben Rikard • 3:57 p.m.
Did ya miss me yet? Probably not as much as you might think, especially since you've had plenty of Greg Miller in the last few weeks to start priming you for the upcoming 2010 season.
Nonetheless, I'm back and ready to go. I got my first glimpse of the newbies yesterday at practice and I'll try and have a few more reports from camp as we count down these 17 remaining days before the season starts 2.5 hours away in Waco at Baylor.
After checking things out yesterday I can confirm that all 14 of the Ladyjacks are in camp and practicing, which is exactly what we want to see. SFA is coming off its sixth 20-win season and a trip to the league tournament finals last season, and as you will see when the preseason polls come out tomorrow, the Ladyjacks are expected to have a similar season in 2010 as well.
Debbie Humphreys has a good helping of experience on this year's squad, but there is also a lot of unproven talent. Four true freshmen and a junior trackster that is making the transition to the court are new to the lineup, while Humphreys will hand the offensive reins to redshirt freshman Allison Gideon this year.
Believe me, there is plenty to like about this year's team; however, one of the key storylines this season will be how well and how quickly this youthful group adapts to the collegiate level. If it takes for them, then 2010 has a chance to be a special season.
Before you ask, I will go ahead and say that I am planning on having more live chats this year just as we did in 2009, but the amount is just going to depend on how much I can hit the road this year. It's kind of hard for me to chat with you guys while I am doing stats at home matches.
Also, I've got to double check, but as far as I know we are supposed to have Laurel Kuepker and her weekly random facts back on the blog again this year. We went back and forth on who knew more useless information last year and I think it is fair to say that I knew far more about the Lone Star State while she specialized in the Upper Midwest. Maybe this year we will have to migrate our mental collision toward the west coast where we both have no true affiliation. More details on that to come as the season progresses ...
So that's going to do it for my first entry of the year. The ice is broken and now we can move forward. I'll have some conference and team breakdowns coming up soon. Let me encourage you to follow SFA Athletics on Facebook, which will let you know every time there is an updated blog entry so you don't have to check this page every 15 minutes (which I know all of you office-goers like me do).
Til next time guys ... Axe `em `Jacks!
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