LAKE CHARLES—McNeese volleyball (8-13, 4-6, SLC) returns home this weekend to Southeastern at 6 p.m. Thursday and LSU New Orleans at 10 a.m. Saturday in Southland Conference matches.
 
McNeese will honor its four seniors (Carli Banks, Sophie Twigg, Megan Grose, and Kayla Wilson) following Saturday's match.  
 
With homecoming festivities taking place this week, fans attending volleyball matches are asked to park in the F.K. White middle school parking lot off East McNeese Street (see above map).   
 
McNeese will look to bounce back from an 0-2 record last week following its five- set loss at Incarnate Word last Thursday and a four-set loss at Houston Christian last Saturday.
 
Southeastern (12-11, 9-1 SLC) enters the match tied for first place in the league standings with UTRGV and have won their last nine matches.  The Lions defeated the Cowgirls 3-1 in Hammond in the first match between the two team earlier this month.
 
 
MATCH INFO
• Opponent: Southeastern
• Date: Thursday, Oct. 29
• First Serve: 6 p.m.
• Location: Lake Charles
• Venue: Townsley Law Arena
 
PARKING ADVISORY- Fans are asked to park at F.K. White Middle School for both matches this weekend (See Above Map). 
 
SERIES RECORD
• Southeastern holds a 24-23 all-time record against McNeese dating back to 2002
• The Lions have won the last 10 matches against McNeese
• The last McNeese win over Southeastern  was a 3-0 win in Lake Charles in 2021, also the last McNeese home win over the Lions.
 
TUNE IN
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McNEESE NOTES
• McNeese returns home four two of its final three home matches this weekend to host league leading Southeastern on Thursday followed by LSU New Orleans on Saturday.
• Saturday's match will have a 10 a.m. start due to home football's 2 p.m. start against Nicholls and it being Halloween as well.
• This will be the second matches against both Southeastern and LSU New Orleans this season.  The Lions defeated the Cowgirls in four sets in Hammond while the Cowgirls defeated LSU New Orleans in four sets in New Orleans earlier this month.
• McNeese enters the match tied for seventh place in the SLC standings along with Northwestern State.  The Cowgirls have the tiebreaker over NW State due to its win over the Demons on Oct. 17.
• Started the SLC schedule against the top five SLC preseason picks as voted by the coaches.  UTRGV (#2), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (#3), SFA (#1), Lamar (#5), and Southeastern (#4).
• McNeese was picked to finish 9th in the SLC preseason poll.
• As a team, McNeese ranks second the SLC and 13th in the nation in digs per set (16.61).  The Cowgirls also rank third in the SLC with 11.84 assists per set.
• Freshman libero Sophia Tocmo ranks 7th in the nation with 5.00 digs per set and 25th in total digs with 370 digs heading into Thursday's match.
• Against ETAM on Oct. 15, Tocmo became the first McNeese freshman libero to reach 300 digs in the rally era when she ended the match with 31 digs.
• Tocmo has recorded double figure digs in the last 20 matches and recorded her first career double double with a career high 33 digs and 13 assists against Oral Roberts on Sept. 19.
• Senior setter Megan Grose has dished out double figure assists in all 21 matches including a season high 24 twice this season.  Grose leads the team with 369 assists and 19 aces.
• Grose recorded her fourth double double at UIW with 19 assists and 13 digs.
• Junior setter Corynne Hausler recorded her third double double of the season (23 ast., 10 digs) against ORU on Sept. 19.  She has dished out at least 10 assists in 16 matches including 15 of the last 16 matches. She is second on the team with 335 assists.
• Gabbie Maldonado has recorded double figure kills in the last nine matches and leads the team with 218 for an average of 2.95 per set.
• Ava Henry leads the team with 52 blocks and is third on the team with 193 kills.
• Kayla Wilson has recorded double figure kills in 10 of the last 15 matches.  Wilson recorded a career high five blocks at LSU New Orleans on Oct. 10.
• McNeese is one of two D1 volleyball programs whose entire staff is in their first year of collegiate coaching.  Indiana State University's staff is the other school.
• The Cowgirls will play 11 home matches this season including two matches in its own Cowgirl Classic.  Of the 11 home matches, eight are conference matches.
• McNeese returns nine players (Corynne Hausler, Carli Banks, Maleah Mutterback, Sophie Twigg, Bailey Foolkes, Mary-Alice Dohmann, Neal Grace Berry, Kayla Wilson, Ava Henry) from last season and one from its 2024 team (Megan Grose).
• The 2026 team also consists of three transfers (Gabbie Maldonado, Harmony Soles, Harmony Jackson) and four freshmen (Sophia Tocmo, Danyele Wallace, Gaby Santiago, Aaniyah Kitchen) 
• Sophomores Ava Henry and Bailey Foolkes are second generation Cowgirls. Ava's mother (Eunice) played basketball and her father (Adam), who serves as the Pittsburgh Steelers 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 both McNeese Hall of Famers.
• First year head coach Tayler Gray made her collegiate debut as a D1 head coach against Miami (OH) on Aug. 28 at the Bearkat Invitational. Gray picked up her first career win, a straight set win at Grambling on Sept. 11. 
• When the Cowgirls and Sam Houston met on Aug. 29 at the Bearkat Invitational, it was a mother-daughter D1 head coaches' matchup.  Tayler's mother Brenda is the Bearkats' head coach.  They are the only mother-daughter D1 head coaches this season and possibly the first in NCAA history.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
SOUTHEASTERN
• Southeastern holds a 24-23 all-time record against McNeese dating back to 2002
• The Lions have won the last 10 matches against McNeese including the match earlier this month in Hammond.
• The last McNeese win over Southeastern was a 3-0 win in Lake Charles in 2021, also the last McNeese home win over the Lions.
 
UPCOMING COWGIRL MATCHES
Oct. 29 Southeastern* (6 p.m.)
Oct. 31 LSU New Orleans* (10 a.m.)
Nov. 5 at Stephen F. Austin (6 p.m.)
Nov. 7 at Lamar (11 a.m.)
Nov. 12 Nicholls (6 p.m.)
Nov. 14 at Nicholls (1 p.m.)
 
*- Southland Conference Match