LAKE CHARLES—The Southland Conference volleyball regular season is winding down and McNeese has four matches remaining, all on the road.
 
McNeese (9-18, 5-7 SLC) enters Thursday's match at first place Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (17-7, 12-0) in eighth place, ½ match ahead of ninth place Southeastern La. The Cowgirls will continue on the road to San Antonio for a Saturday match at Incarnate Word. The Cardinals also have a 5-7 conference record with three matches remaining on their schedule. The Cowgirls will travel to Nicholls and Abilene Christian next week to conclude the regular season. The top eight teams will advance to the Southland Conference Tournament in Conway, Arkansas, Nov. 18-20.
 
Thursday and Saturday's match will be the first time this season the Cowgirls play either team. Wins by the Cowgirls would be a huge advantage if McNeese and Southeastern La. end up tied for the eight spot. Southeastern La. has the tiebreaker over McNeese by virtue of its two wins over the Cowgirls.
 
Junior Jenny D'Alessandro leads the Cowgirls in kills with 211 and blocks with 72. D'Alessandro is coming off a career high eight-block match against Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday. McNeese leads the league in digs with 808 for an average of 17.19 in conference matches. Senior Bridget Justis leads the Cowgirls and ranks second in the SLC with 5.00 per set. Sophomore Alexandra Aguilera continues to lead McNeese and ranks eighth in the SLC with 9.85 assists per set.
 
The Islanders lead the league in hitting percent (.292) and assists (13.85) and are second in the SLC in opponent hitting percent and blocks.
 
Madison Fitzsimmons leads TAMU-CC and ranks second in the league with a .382 hitting percent in conference matches while Krystyn Nicholson has a league best 29 service aces. Brittan Gilpin ranks third in kills with 3.56 per set.