Game Notes: VB seeks revenge against Southern Wesleyan

By Matt Green

Lady Hawks (24-7, 9-4) vs. Southern Wesleyan (22-9, 7-6)
Tuesday, Oct. 25 • 7 pm • Winthrop-King Centre

ROME -- The Shorter University volleyball team will play host to Southern States Athletic Conference rival Southern Wesleyan University tomorrow night, Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 7 pm in the Winthrop-King Centre. The Lady Hawks (24-7, 9-4 SSAC) hope to avenge a stunning 3-1 loss to the Warriors (22-9, 7-6) in Central, S.C., back on Sept. 22. Both teams enter Tuesday night's affair riding significant streaks of success -- Shorter has won seven of eight dating back to a 3-0 sweep of then No. 2-ranked Embry-Riddle on Oct. 7 while Southern Wesleyan has rebounded from a stretch of eight losses in nine outings with four straight wins, three of which came against SSAC foes.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Shorter and Southern Wesleyan are meeting for the 23rd time on Tuesday night with the all-time series deadlocked at 11-11. The Lady Hawks saw their four-match winning streak over the Warriors snapped with the loss on Sept. 22.

HEATING UP
Since a mid-season stretch from Sept. 9 through Sept. 22, during which the Lady Hawks went 5-5, Shorter is 12-3 with two of those losses coming to fourth-ranked Lee University. The Lady Hawks have a history of playing their best volleyball late in the season -- Shorter closed out the 2010 season with five straight wins and ended the 2009 campaign with 12 victories in their final 13 matches.

COOPER NAMED SSAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior Jessica Cooper had a phenomenal week of Oct. 17-23 for Shorter with 20 total kills, just one attacking error in 30 attempts and 10 total blocks. In a loss to No. 4 Lee University last Tuesday, Cooper led Shorter with 11 kills while adding four blocks. She then guided Shorter to a sweep of Brewton-Parker on Saturday with a team-high nine kills, no errors and six blocks. For the season, Cooper is third on the team in kills with 239 while leading the team in hitting percentage (.391).