A full slate of Lone Star Conference games along with non-conference contests are scheduled this week. Abilene Christian and West Texas A&M are both 4-0 in conference play to lead the league with Central Oklahoma (4-1) behind them as competition for one of eight spots at the LSC Volleyball Championship continues.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Neely Borger, Abilene Christian University, FR, Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo HS
Borger was a catalyst for the Wildcats as the pulled an upset of No. 11 Emporia State on Saturday. Borger was outstanding offensively finishing the weekend with a .387 hitting percentage with 35 kills on 63 attempts. She led ACU in kills with 13 in the win over ESU hitting a hot .722 with her biggest seven kills coming in the final two sets. Borger also showed a defensive presence recording 10 blocks and accounting for 49 points in four matches for the Wildcats.
Chelsea Gibson, Angelo State University, SO, Spring Branch, Texas, Smithson Valley HS
Gibson recorded 40 kills, seven total blocks, five digs with a .306 hitting percentage in four matches at the Lady Blues Regional Crossover Tournament in Topeka, Kan. Her performance earned her All-Tournament Team honors. She had two double-digit kill performances versus No. 12 Truman State (15 kills) and at No. 7 Washburn (11 kills). Gibson has totaled a team-leading 162 kills (3.06 kills per set), 34 total blocks (0.64 blocks per set) and a .289 hitting percentage on the season.
DEFENSIVE
Kelsie Edwards, Abilene Christian University, JR, Highlands Ranch, Colo., Highlands Ranch HS
Edwards was outstanding over the weekend for the Wildcats as she recorded 63 digs in the four matches. Edwards was one dig shy of her season high against UNO as she recorded 20 in a straight set victory for the Wildcats. She recorded double-digit digs in every game for ACU including 18 to lead all players in the loss to Truman State giving her a total of 222 on the season moving her closer to the top 10 all-time at ACU.
Brittany McDonald, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, JR, Carrollton, Texas, Creekview HS
McDonald helped Southeastern to a 2-1 week that included its first LSC win of the season. McDonald was dominant at the net both offensively and defensively. On defense, she turned in 14 blocks, four of which were solo, over nine sets, averaging 1.56 blocks per set. Offensively, she averaged 2.56 kills per set and had an attack percentage of .465 for the week. Her numbers were bolstered by a school-record performance in a win over St. Mary’s in which she hit .850 for the match with 17 kills in 20 attempts. The mark was also good enough to tie her for third all-time in the NCAA record book.
SETTER
IJ Moronu, Abilene Christian University, SR, Ft. Worth, Texas, Paschal HS
Moronu has continued to show validity to her preseason LSC Setter of the Year selection as she helped run the ACU offense to a tune of a .201 hitting percentage. Individually, Moronu hit .392 as she added 24 kills for the Wildcats as they finished 3-1 on the weekend. Moronu was outstanding adding 148 assists for an average of 9.25 assists per set. She is also sitting at 561 assists on the season and is just 56 shy of third all-time in the Wildcat record books.
Jordan Neal, Texas A&M University - Commerce, FR, Joshua, Texas, Joshua HS
Neal had a career-best 57 assists in the five-set win over Incarnate Word and 25 assists in the contests against Texas Woman’s and Texas A&M-International. Also against the Dust Devils, she had two service aces and three kills. She also had three kills against the Cardinals and four more against the Pioneers.