LAKE CHARLES—McNeese volleyball (5-10, 1-3, SLC) will hit the road for two Southland Conference matches this weekend.  The Cowgirls will travel to Hammond on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. match against Southeastern (6-11, 3-1 SLC) before concluding their weekend with and 11 a.m. match at LSU New Orleans (2-15, 0-4 SLC) on Saturday.  Both matches will stream on ESPN+.


MATCH INFO
• Opponent: Southeastern
• Date: Thursday, Oct. 8
• First Serve: 6:30 p.m.
• Location: Hammond
• Venue: University Center
 
SERIES RECORD
• The series is tied 23-23 dating back to 2002
• Southeastern has won the last nine matches against McNeese
• The last McNeese win over Southeastern was a 3-0 win in Lake Charles on Oct. 28, 2021
• The last McNeese win in Hammond was a 3-1 win on Oct. 13, 2018
 
Complete McNeese Schedule
 
TUNE IN
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McNEESE NOTES
• McNeese will travel to Southeastern and LSU New Orleans this week for its second and third SLC road matches of the season.  The only other road match McNeese has played this season was at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sept. 26.
• Coming off a straight set home win against Lamar last Saturday that snapped a two match losing streak
• Thursday's match will be the final SLC match where the Cowgirls opened the SLC slate 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.
• Southeastern head coach Lee McBride is a familiar face to McNeese fans.  McBride served as head coach of the Cowgirls from 1990-2003 and led McNeese to its only SLC regular season title in 1997.
• As a team, McNeese leads the SLC and ranks 8th in the nation in digs per set (16.69).
• Freshman Sophia Tocmo ranks 5th in the nation with 5.37 digs per set and 38th in total digs with 263 digs heading into Thursday's match.
• Tocmo has recorded double figure digs in the last 14 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 15 matches including a season high 24 against Gramling on Sept. 17.  Grose leads the team with 250 assists.
• 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 11 matches including the last five matches. She is second on the team with 224 assists.
• Kayla Wilson leads the team with 144 kills. Wilson has recorded double figure kills in eight of the last nine matches.
Wilson produced a .418 hitting percent with 26 kills, three errors in 55 attempts combined against SFA and Lamar last week.
• Sophomore Ava Henry continues to lead McNeese with 33 blocks and is second on the team with 135 kills.
• 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
• Picked to finish 4th in the preseason poll
• Enter the match, which is their home opener, tied for third in the SLC standings with a 6-11 overall record and 3-1 SLC record.  UIW and Texas A&M-CC are also 3-1 in the SLC heading into their Thursday match
• Are on a three-match winning streak
• Lead the SLC in blocks (2.08 per set)
• Kyra McKelvey leads the SLC with 216 kills
 
UPCOMING COWGIRL MATCHES
Oct. 8 at Southeastern* (6:30 p.m.)
Oct. 10 at LSU New Orleans* (11 a.m.)
Oct. 15 East Texas A&M* (6 p.m.)
Oct. 17 Northwestern State* (1 p.m.)
Oct. 22 at Incarnate Word* (6 p.m.)
Oct. 24 at Houston Christian* (11 a.m.)
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
 
 

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