LAKE CHARLES—All the early season tournaments against tough competition is one way to get teams ready for the conference schedule and McNeese volleyball has had its fair share of tough competition so far this season.
 
McNeese (1-13) hasn't had the start to the 2018 season that it anticipated but all that can be changed this weekend when the Cowgirls open Southland Conference action on the road at Sam Houston State (8-4) Thursday in a 6:30 p.m. match on ESPN3 and on the WatchESPN app. The Cowgirls will continue on the road for a 1 p.m. Saturday match at Abilene Christian (3-9).
 
Picked to finish 8^th in the preseason poll, the Cowgirls have played all but one match at home this season that resulted in their only win of the season against Southern on Sept. 12.
 
Sam Houston State was picked 7^th and Abilene Christian was picked 5^th in the SLC preseason poll.
 
Juniors Keegan Nelms, Katelyn Elliott, and Angela McGownd along with sophomore Caitlin Sharrock, Allison Lippert and freshman Paige Havel are the team leaders in different statistical categories.
 
Nelms and Elliott lead the team in kills with 108 and 98, respectively. Elliott is coming off a weekend that saw her pick up double figure kills in two of three matches at the Rice Adidas Invitational II where she was named to the all-tournament team.
 
McGownd continues to lead on defense with 182 digs for an average of 3.96 per set, ranking her sixth in the league.
 
Sharrock has a team best 256 assists for an average of 5.57 per set. Sharrock has recorded 10 or more assists in all but one match and has dished out 30 or more in three of the last four matches including a career high 34 against Southern.
 
Havel and Lippert lead McNeese at the net with 38 and 37 blocks, respectively. In the last four matches, Havel has recorded nearly have of her blocks on the year including five in both the match against Southern and most recently against Rice last Saturday.