LAKE CHARLES—McNeese volleyball will host its own Cowgirl Classic this weekend beginning Thursday, Sept. 4.  Alcorn, UL-Monroe and UT-Arlington will join the Cowgirls to make up the tournament field. 
 
Thursday and Friday matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. while Saturday matches are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.  All McNeese tournament matches will stream on ESPN+.
 
McNeese is coming off an opening weekend where they won the Sam Houston Invitational with a 2-1 record following wins over Tulane and Southern Illinois.  The 2-1 record is the best opening weekend start since the 2021 team started 2-1.
 
Admission is free for all tournament matches as well as all home matches for the 2025 season.
 
 
MATCH INFO: vs. Alcorn

• Date: Thursday, Sept. 4
• Time: 6 p.m.
• Location: Lake Charles
• Venue: Legacy Center

• Live Stats
• ESPN+
• PROMOTION: First 75 college students will receive a T-shirt

 
 MATCH INFO: vs. UT-Arlington

• Date: Friday, Sept. 5
• Time: 6 p.m.
• Location: Lake Charles
• Venue: Legacy Center

• Live Stats
• ESPN+

 
 
MATCH INFO: vs. UL-Monroe

• Date: Saturday, Sept. 6
• Time: 1 p.m.
• Location: Lake Charles
• Venue: Legacy Center
• Live Stats
• ESPN+

 
 McNeese Cowgirl Classic Schedule
Thu. 4  UL-Monroe vs. UT-Arlington            1 p.m.
McNeese vs. Alcorn (ESPN+)                      6 p.m.
 
Fri. 5   Alcorn vs. UL-Monroe                       1 p.m.
McNeese vs. UT-Arlington (ESPN+)          6 p.m.
 
Sat. 6   UT-Arlington vs. Alcorn                    10:30 a.m.
McNeese vs. UL-Monroe (ESPN+)             1 p.m.
 
 
McNEESE NOTES
• Coming off a tournament title at the Sam Houston Invitational last weekend with a 2-1 record, it was the Cowgirls best opening weekend start since 2021 when that team also posted a 2-1 record following the opening weekend.
 
• McNeese opened the season with a 3-2 win over Tulane, fell 3-0 to Sam Houston before ending tournament play with a 3-2 win over Southern Illinois.  
 
• Freshman Ava Henry was named tournament MVP while senior D'Nari Mills was named to the all-tournament team.
 
• Five freshmen made their collegiate debut at the Sam Houston Invitational last weekend.
 
• McNeese will face Alcorn at 6 p.m. Thursday in its own Cowgirl Classic, UT-Arlington at 6 p.m. Friday, and UL-Monroe at 1 p.m. Saturday.
 
• D'Nari Mills leads the team with 46 kills; freshman Kinga Ziolkowska leads the team in assists (95) and service aces (6); freshman Neal Grace Berry leads the team digs (39), and senior Jordan Gamble leads the team with 13 blocks.
 
• The Cowgirls will also take part in two more regular season tournaments: at Florida A&M (Sept. 11-12), and at Houston (Sept. 19-20).
 
• Head coach Sasha Karelov is in her fourth season with the Cowgirls.
 
•- McNeese posted a 10-18 overall record in 2024 and finished ninth in the Southland Conference with a 6-10 overall record
 
• McNeese returns three players from last season (seniors Kayla Wilson and Lauren Fuller and sophomore Corynne Hausler).
 
• The 2025 roster consists of 15 newcomers including eight freshmen.
 
• Freshmen Ava Henry and Bailey Foolkes are second generation Cowgirls. Ava's mother Eunice played basketball and her father, Adam, who serves as the Buffalo Bills wide receivers coach, played football at McNeese.  Foolkes' mother, Shannon played volleyball while her father, Trevor ran cross country for McNeese.  Adam and Shannon are McNeese Hall of Famers.