September 20, 2011

UNCG (6-8) at North Carolina A&T (0-12), Sept. 21, Greensboro, N.C.

Storylines:

- UNCG will make the short trip down Market St. on Wednesday as the Spartans face cross-town rival North Carolina A&T at 6 p.m. in their final nonconference match before beginning Southern Conference play this weekend.

- Earlier this season, the Spartans and Aggies clashed at the UNCG Invitational. During that first weekend of the season, UNCG came away with a 3-0 victory. In that match, Karrian Chambers had a match-high 10 kills and Morgan Freeman added eight of her own.

- North Carolina A&T enters the match with a 0-12 record after falling to Coastal Carolina, Davidson and Norfolk State this past weekend at the Davidson Tournament. In fact, the Aggies have yet to win a set this season as they only have six student-athletes on their roster.

- Last weekend, UNCG hosted its second tournament this fall as Memphis, Radford and Howard came to town for the Spartan Spiketacular. The Spartans fell to Memphis on Friday night, but bounced back to defeat Howard, 3-1, before sweeping Radford later in the day.

- At the conclusion of the Spartan Spiketacular, sophomore Kellie Orewiler was named the Libero of the Tournament. Ari Lysacek and Karrian Chambers both earned All-Tournament Team honors, as well.

- On Sept. 3-4, UNCG traveled up to Fairfax, Va. for the Patriot Invitational on the campus of George Mason. The Spartans defeated High Point, 3-1, last Saturday before falling to host George Mason in the nightcap, 3-1. On Sunday, UNCG took down Navy, 3-1. Ariel Newman was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts over the weekend.

- The first weekend of the season, the Spartans went 1-3 as they hosted the first annual UNCG Invitational. On Friday, UNCG fell to Coastal Carolina, 3-1, in its season opener and then fell to East Tennessee State by the same score later in the evening. On Saturday, the Spartans came out and cruised to a 3-0 win over cross-town rival North Carolina A&T, but fell to tournament champion Evansville, 3-0, in the nightcap.

- Junior Ari Lysacek was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts at the UNCG Invitational. Lysacek did a little bit of everything over the weekend as she recorded 59 assists, 25 kills and 19 digs in her three matches. Against Evansville, Lysacek nearly recorded a triple-double as she had 16 assists, nine kills and eight digs.

- In 2010, UNCG went 22-12 overall with a 9-7 record in the Southern Conference. The Spartans finished in a tie for second in the North Division and advanced all the way to the semifinals of the Southern Conference Championship.

- UNCG returns three starters and its libero from last season. Senior Ariel Newman returns as the starting outside hitter after leading the team with a 2.97 kills per set average a season ago. Setter Ari Lysacek also returns after posting 970 assists in 2010 and middle blocker Olivia Humphries is also back this year. Libero Kellie Orewiler was a Southern Conference All-Freshman Team selection a year ago and will look to solidify the Spartans defensively.

- Ariel Newman, Sarah Eldridge and Kellie Orewiler were all named team captains this season by their teammates. Newman and Eldridge are the lone seniors on the team this year, while Orewiler is a sophomore this season.

- UNCG has many returners this season who were ranked in the top-10 in numerous categories within the SoCon. Ariel Newman's 2.97 kills per set average ranked seventh in the league in 2010 and Kellie Orewiler's 3.60 digs per set average was good enough for ninth place. Ari Lysacek was fifth in the SoCon with a 7.89 assists per set average and was also seventh in service aces after posting 37 for a .30 per set average.

- This year's team will look to match the 2010's squad in tournaments this season as last year's team came away with two tournament titles in the first four weeks of the season. UNCG began the year by winning the Spartan Classic at Norfolk State University before winning its own tournament, the Spartan Spiketacular, just a few weeks later. It was the first time since 1995 that UNCG had won two tournaments in a single season.

- UNCG -