Volleyball Opens Home Tournament on Friday Night Against Cincinnati

Friday, September 1

Cincinnati, Ohio

4 p.m.

Xavier University

Texas State vs Western Michigan

Volleyball Opens Home Tournament on Friday Night Against Cincinnati

08.31.17 | Volleyball

Live Stats Watch Live

Xavier is also scheduled to face Western Michigan and Texas State

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI – Xavier volleyball takes on Cincinnati on Friday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. to open its own tournament at Cintas Center. The Musketeers will also face Western Michigan and Texas State during tournament action.

Live stats will be available for each match, while a live video stream will be available for all three of the Xavier matches.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday, Sept. 1 - Texas State vs Western Michigan at 4 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 1 - Cincinnati at Xavier at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2 - Texas State vs Cincinnati at 10 a.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2 - Western Michigan at Xavier at 1 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2 - Western Michigan vs Cincinnati at 4 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 2 - Texas State at Xavier at 7 p.m.

ABOUT CINCINNATI

2017 Record: 0-3
Postseason: NCAA Tournament (First Round)
Series History: Xavier trails, 22-11
Last Meeting: Cincinnati 3, Xavier 1 - 08/29/15
NOTABLES
• The Bearcats posted a 22-10 (17-3 AAC) record last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament First Round before being defeated by Florida State.
• Cincinnati was picked to finish second in the Preseason AAC Coaches' Poll behind newcomer Wichita State. Jordan Thompson - the 2016 AAC Player of the Year - was picked as the preseason player of the year, while Jade Tingelhoff and Carly Nolan also earned preseason all-conference honors.
• Cincinnati is 0-3 to start the year after opening the season at the Bluegrass Battle hosted by Kentucky. The Bearcats dropped two matches against nationally ranked opponents in No. 14 Kentucky and No. 24 Utah.

ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN

2017 Record: 1-2
Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier trails, 4-2
Last Meeting: WMU 3, Xavier 1 - 09/09/16
NOTABLES
• The Broncos were picked to finish third in the west division of the Preseason MAC Coaches' Poll after posting a 12-19 (6-10 MAC) record a year ago.
• Western Michigan opened the season at the Dish Tennessee Classic hosted by Tennessee. The Broncos won a four-set match against George Washigton and lost to Tennessee (3-1) and Wofford (3-2).
• Sydney LeMay, a three-time All-MAC performer, ranks second on the team in kills (2.85 k/s).
• Kristen Massa hit .361 with 15 kills against the Broncos last season, while Meredith Klare had 17 digs. Klare was named the Holiday Inn West Invitational MVP, averaging 3.67 d/s during the tournament hosted by WMU.

ABOUT TEXAS STATE

2017 Record: 1-1
Postseason: None
Series History: First meeting

NOTABLES
• Texas State was picked to finish second in the west division of the Preseason Sun Belt Coaches' Poll after posting a 21-12 (13-3 Sun Belt) record last season. Seniors Jaliyah Bolden and Erin Hoppe were named to the preseason all-conference team, while Hoppe was also tabbed the preseason setter of the year.
• Texas State opened the season at the Texas A&M Invitational. The Bobcats defeated Sam Houston State (3-0) and lost to VCU (0-3).
• Texas State will be the first of four programs Xavier will face for the first time in program history this season. The other three teams are Kansas State, Colorado and Albany.

NOTABLES

• Senior Kristen Massa posted a career-high 19 kills to go along with 17 digs on Tuesday night against Miami (Ohio), her second double-double of the season. She added three aces.

• Xavier has five more aces (21-16) than its opponents this season, led by seniors Lauren Frilling and Kristen Massa who each have seven.

• Xavier has 19 more blocks (40-21) than its opponents this season, ranking second in the BIG EAST in total blocks. Lauren Frilling paces the Musketeers in blocks with 21 (2nd in the BIG EAST), while Alexis Newsome ranks fifth with 16 (5th in the BIG EAST).

• Xavier also ranks second in the BIG EAST in opponent hitting percentage (.152) and kills (14.07 k/s) and fourth in assists (12.64 a/s).

• Meredith Klare leads the BIG EAST in digs, averaging 4.86 d/s. The Musketeers also rank first as a team in digs (19.00 d/s).

• Kristen Massa leads the BIG EAST in points (5.46 p/s) and kills (4.50 k/s), while ranking fifth in aves (0.50 a/s) and 11th in digs (3.57 d/s).

• Senior Kristen Massa is 105 kills away from recording her 1,000th career kill at Xavier. Classmate Mackenzi Humm ranks 10th in school history in assists with 1,587.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a four-set loss (26-28, 24-26, 25-21, 18-25) to Miami (Ohio) on Tuesday night.

• Xavier had seven more aces (7-0) than Miami and had three more blocks (13-10). Senior Lauren Frilling led Xavier with six blocks. She added three aces and five kills.

• Alexis Newsome hit .360 with 12 kills. The junior middle blocker added three blocks.

• Mackenzi Humm posted her second double-double of the season, recording a match-high 25 assists to go along with 19 digs. Nadia Dieudonne posted her first career double-double as the freshman setter had 20 assists and 15 digs.

BGSU TOURNAMENT

• Xavier opened the 2017 season with a 3-0 record at the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by Bowling Green. The Musketeers only dropped one set during tournament play.

• Kristen Massa was named the tournament MVP, while Alexis Newsome and Lauren Frilling were named to the all-tournament team.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Senior Kristen Massa was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team. Massa, a 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team selection, ranked third on the team in kills (292) last season, while adding 47 blocks and 63 digs. The Cincinnati native had 10 or more kills in 16 matches.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Poll as selected by conference head coaches. The Musketeers finished tied for second in the BIG EAST standings a year ago and advanced to the conference tournament championship match before being defeated by No. 21 Creighton.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play nine of its first 13 matches of the season on the road. The Musketeers will also travel to Georgia Tech (Sept. 7-8) and Colorado State (Sept. 16) for non-conference tournaments.

• Xavier faces seven teams that participated in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Seventeen of the Musketeers 23 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 23 opponents combined to post a 433-289 record last season with a .600 winning percentage. Xavier's opponents averaged 18.8 wins a year ago.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier opens BIG EAST play on Sept. 20 against DePaul at Cintas Center. Five of Xavier's first seven conference matches will be played at home.

• Xavier has posted a 51-19 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in all four seasons.

• The BIG EAST Tournament will be hosted by Marquette after being held at Butler in 2016.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier posted a 20-13 (13-5) record last season under head coach Christy Pfeffenberger. The 20-win campaign was the 21st in program history.

• The Musketeers overall record of 20-13 last year was the programs 19th consecutive season with a .500 or above record.

• Head coach Christy Pfeffenberger has posted a 41-26 overall record in two seasons with the Musketeers, including a 27-9 mark in BIG EAST play.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors nine times in the last 12 years. Abbey Bessler earned AVCA All-American honorable mention team honors last year.

• The Musketeers return 11 letterwinners from last year, including nine upperclassmen. Xavier will have four seniors on the team this fall.

• The Musketeers graduated three seniors, including All-BIG EAST First Team selections Abbey Bessler and Sofia Peterson. Both players also earned AVCA East Region First-Team honors.

• Xavier added four newcomers in the offseason in Lauren Hanlon, Nadia Dieudonne, Moriah Hopkins and Maya Krause.

UP NEXT

• The Musketeers travel to the Georgia Tech Tournament on Sept. 7-8. Xavier opens tournament play against the host Yellow Jackets on Thursday at 6 p.m.