Carrollton, GA - Entering the third week of the 2013 Gulf South Conference volleyball schedule, the West Georgia Wolves are 8-3 overall this season with a 3-1 record in GSC play.

This comes after a week that featured two of the toughest opponents on the schedule this year, as the Wolves went 1-1 facing No. 21 West Florida on the road last Tuesday followed by a weekend home battle with NAIA power Lee on Saturday at The Coliseum. UWG fell 3-1 to West Florida, but prevailed against Lee with a 3-1 victory.

The Wolves enter the week sitting in third place in the overall standings in the Gulf South Conference. Valdosta State leads with a 5-0 record in GSC play, followed by West Florida at 4-1.

After the weekend, the Wolves still lead the Gulf South Conference in hitting percentage, putting down kills at a .233 pace on the year. West Georgia also leads by a slim margin over this week's Friday night opponent, Valdosta State, in team assists and team kills per set.

#Emily Reul# is still in second in kills per set at 3.51 this season and #Lesley Bemis# has moved up to fourth in hitting percentage on the year at .352. #Amanda Miller# leads all setters with 10.64 assists per set and #Melissa Holt# leads the GSC in digs per set at 4.91, dropping below 5.00 digs per set for the first time this year.

On the year, Bemis (2.48), #Helen Menchinger# (2.34) and #Amanda Miles# (2.18) are all averaging more than two kills per set and Reul leads the way with 3.51. Three players have double-digit service aces on the year, led by Reul with 19, Miller with 13 and Drea Matthews with 10.

Tuesday's Opponent - Shorter
The Hawks come into the week with a 4-5 overall record this season and 0-3 in Gulf South Conference play in their second year as a provisional member. Shorter is set to become a full member of the GSC in the 2014-15 athletic year.

After starting the season at 3-0 with wins over Lincoln Memorial, Flagler and Georgia Regents (Augusta State), the Hawks have fallen short in GSC play, losing 3-0 to West Florida and Valdosta State while falling 3-1 to West Alabama.

Juniors Jasmine Crook and Erica Baker are the top two hitters for the Hawks this season, with Crook averaging 2.70 and Baker at 2.67 kills per set. Baker and junior Anna Graham are the leaders on the block, averaging 0.61 blocks per set on the year. Sophomore Dana Pierce and freshman Cheyenne Frady split time at setter and are both averaging just over five assists per set.

Friday's Opponent - Valdosta State
The Blazers are currently the top team in the Gulf South Conference with a 12-2 overall record, including a perfect 5-0 record in GSC play.

VSU started off with a 4-0 run through the UWG Invitational in the first weekend of the year and had a blip on the screen with two straight losses at the USC-Aiken Invitational, falling to Palm Beach Atlantic and Lander. The Blazers have won seven straight matches coming into the week.

The Blazers have a .225 team hitting percentage this season and have two players, Destiny Berry and Lelaleilei Nomura, who are averaging more than three kills per set. Berry tops the team with 3.17 and Nomura is just behind with 3.05. Delivering the ball to the VSU hitters is Jessica Codato, who averages 8.28 assists per set. The VSU defensive back line is solid as well, with five players with at least 100 digs on the season.

Record Book Watch
This year has been full of milestones, and senior #Emily Reul# became the third player this year to set another milestone, as she went over the 1,000-dig mark this past weekend. She now has 1,008 and is sixth on the all-time list. She will likely move into third place all-time within the next two weeks.

Senior #Melissa Holt# has the career record for digs in her sights, as she currently has 1,173 digs for her career, needing 241 digs to surpass Stephanie Singleton for the all-time lead.

#Amanda Miller# is also close to the career record for assists at UWG. She has 479 assists on the year and needs 905 to pass Kristy Dermid as the all-time leader in assists. She is currently in fourth place and needs 557 assists to pass Micque Parker and move into third place.

Junior #Helen Menchinger# is closing in on the top-15 all-time in attacks at UWG. She currently has 1,807 career attacks and needs 80 to move into the top-15. She is 110 kills away from cracking into the top-15 in that category. She currently has 587 career kills.