Angelo State, Texas A&M-Commerce, and UAFS boast identical 11-1 Lone Star Conference records with three weeks of action remaining.
LSC volleyball teams are 208-179 overall this season. The squads are currently 22-15 combined against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, the other league in the NCAA South Central Region.
LSC schedule and results available here:
http://www.lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=wvball&
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Lexie Johnston, UAFS, JR, Elementary Education K-6, MH, Ozark, MO, Ozark HS
Johnston, a junior middle hitter, led UAFS Volleyball to two crucial conference wins this week as the Lady Lions defeated St. Mary's (3-0) and St. Edward's (3-1). Throughout the two matches, Johnston recorded 32 total kills with only one error on total of 47 attempts which led to an imposing .679 hitting percentage. She added a total of 36 points to the UAFS offense. Saturday's performance with 21 kills on 32 attempts and only one error powered Lady Lions over the long-time conference rival, St. Edward's. Johnston is currently ranked No. 4 in Division II in hitting percentage with an overall .426 clip.
DEFENSIVE
Morgan Schwarz, Lubbock Christian, SR, Pre-Vet, MB, Burleson, Texas, Burleson HS
No.15 Angelo State entered their contest against LCU ranked third nationally in hitting percentage, but LCU held the Belles to a .061 hitting mark (their lowest since a .046 on Oct. 11, 2014 against Texas A&M - Commerce) behind a 13.5-point and 7-block performance from LCU's Morgan Schwarz, as LCU was able to defeat ASU 3-1. Schwarz had eight kills and seven blocks, with a career-high four solo blocks. The four solos is the most by a Lady Chap since Jaiden Kennedy registered four against Texas A&M International on Sept. 30, 2017. It is the fourth time since 2008 in which a Lady Chap has produced at least four solo blocks in a match. The match also marked the fifth time this season LCU has held an opponent to hit less than .100.
SETTER
Gabby Emery, West Texas A&M, JR, Biology, Setter, Gilbert, Arizona, Perry HS
Emery was a driving force in three victories for the Lady Buffs this past week as they topped Tarleton, UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico to move to 16-4 with an 8-3 mark in league action to sit in second place in their division with just three weekends left in the regular season. The junior dished out an incredible 113 assists in 10 sets for an average of 11.30 per frame to go along with five kills, two service aces, 27 digs and seven total points for the Lady Buffs. The Gilbert, Arizona native set a new career-high with 39 assists on Tuesday night in Stephenville followed by a pair of 37-assist performances against UTPB and WNMU in Canyon.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
S-10 Shelley Chapron, Texas A&M-Commerce
S-17 Lauren Kersey, Tarleton State
S-23 Tatyana Tuialii-Umi, Tarleton State
O-1 Selena Batiste, West Texas A&M
O-8 Sundara Chinn, Angelo State
O-15 Bina Njikam, Texas A&M-Commerce
O-22 Melissa McNeil, St. Edward’s
O-29 Lexie Johnston, UAFS
Defensive
S-10 Sofia Tonga, Tarleton State
S-17 Keely Hardin, DBU
S-23 Makenna Hanssen, Angelo State
O-1 Chandler Vogel, West Texas A&M
O-8 Makenna Hanssen, Angelo State (2)
O-15 Sofia Tonga, Tarleton State (2)
O-22 Maya Smalls, St. Edward’s
O-29 Morgan Schwarz, Lubbock Christian
Setter
S-10 Kayla Brannon, Tarleton State
S-17 Strealy Sizelove, DBU
S-23 Amari Franklin, Tarleton State
O-1 Lindsey Ledyard, Angelo State
O-8 Meghan Parker, Angelo State
O-15 Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce
O-22 Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
O-29 Gabby Emery, West Texas A&M
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M, had another big week for the Lady Buffs as they picked up victories over Tarleton, UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico to continue the best start to a season since 2014 for West Texas A&M. The Brownwood native registered a team-high 43 kills on 98 swings to hit .306 in the three matches to go along with three assists, three aces, 39 digs and seven blocks to tally 49.5 points in the victories to move WT to 16-4 on the season. Miller registered a double-double in all three matches this past week to run her season total to nine. Miller made her first and only trip to Stephenville memorable on Tuesday night as she led the way offensively for the Lady Buffs with 19 kills on 42 swings with seven attack errors to hit .286 on the night to go along with 14 digs for a double-double as the Lady Buffs claimed their first win at Wisdom Gym since 2014. The freshman currently leads the Lone Star Conference in kills (313), kills per set (4.29), points (353) and points per set (4.84).
Bria Augustine , Western New Mexico, recorded back-to-back double-doubles this weekend, against Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M. The Bell Flower native led the team with 12 kills in match one, following up with a 16 kills performance against WT hitting at a .333 clip. She also put the pressure on behind the service line registering three service aces, along with 13 dig versus the Lady Buffs.
Courtney Noel, Texas Woman's, was instrumental in the Pioneers going 2-0 this past week with victories over Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville. She began the week by leading TWU with 13 kills against the Dustdevils, producing a .393 hitting percentage. Against the Javelinas, who entered the week atop their division, she tied a season-high 16 kills while hitting .481, marking the fifth straight match she hit over .300.
Jasmine Gannon, Eastern New Mexico, recorded back-to-back double-doubles against Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin. Has tallied double-digit kill figures in her last four consecutive matches. Leads the team with 176 kills and 180 digs.
Rockelle Gholson, Midwestern State, smashed 34 kills last week, helping Midwestern State to a 2-1 week. Gholson logged her sixth double-double of the season on Saturday, as she collected 10 kills and 13 digs. The senior set a season-high with 17 kills against Texas A&M-Kingsville earlier in the week.
Amber Strange, Tarleton State, led the team with 38 kills and an average of 2.92 kills per set, including 16 in a win over UT Tyler. Strange hit .228 and added six blocks.
Sophia Berg, Angelo State, was a unstoppable force on the offense for the Belles in their match against Lubbock Christian. With a hitting percentage of .333, and averaging 2.5 kills a set, Berg brought 10 total kills against the Lady Chaps. She also added one dig and seven total blocks against LCU, two being solo blocks.
Gabi Lau , Western New Mexico, led the defensive efforts for the Mustangs over the weekend, recording 38 digs in two matches for a 5.43 average a set. The Kailua native, tallied 22 digs in a four-set win over Eastern New Mexico, and 16 against West Texas A&M, making it four consecutive matches she has recorded double-digit digs.
Anna Demmer, UAFS, has been the most active players on UAFS defense over the last two matches against St. Mary's and St. Edward's. She started the weekend out with seven digs against St. Mary's and then raised to a different level against St. Edward's with 19 digs. She helped UAFS hold the opposing offenses to a .105 hitting percentage. Over the two matches, Demmer also recorded 8 blocks and 17 kills, for total of 22.5 points which makes her defensive effort even more impressive.
Jasmine Gannon, Eastern New Mexico, recorded back-to-back double-doubles against Western New Mexico and UT Permian Basin. Has tallied double-digit kill figures in her last four consecutive matches. Leads the team with 176 kills and 180 digs.
Sophia Berg, Angelo State, was Angelo States immovable wall as they faced Lubbock Christian. She totaled seven blocks for the Belles, two being solo blocks. She had one dig against the Lady Chaps, averaging .25 digs a set. She scored 14.5 points for the Belles, keeping LCU's hitting percentage to a .150 throughout the course of the match.
Sofia Tonga, Tarleton State, led the team with 15 blocks for an average of 1.15 blocks per set in three matches.
Amanda Van Wyk, UAFS, powered UAFS dynamic offense to another 2-0 weekend in the conference play. Van Wyk recorded a total of 76 assists (10.8 per match) while also adding 10.5 points and 7 kills. In the first match vs St. Mary's, Van Wyk recorded 32 assists while in the second match against St. Edward's she exploded for 44 assists, leading the Lady Lions to another undefeated weekend. On top of that, Van Wyk recorded 25 digs and two solo blocks.
Bradi Marshall, Lubbock Christian, claimed their first win over a nationally ranked foe since 2014, defeating No.15 Angelo State 3-1. Aiding the win was a double-double performance from Bradi Marshall, who posted 38 assists and 16 digs (matched a team individual high in digs for the match). It was Marshall's 32nd career double-double and she has 15 double-doubles this season and they have come over a 19-match stretch (seven straight matches).
Kayla Brannon, Tarleton State, led Tarleton with 99 assists and an average of 7.62 assists per set. The Texans hit .193 as a team.
Katy Ranes, Texas Woman's, the senior anchored the Pioneers' offense in a week that saw them finish 2-0 with a pair of four-set victories over Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville. Following her lead, the TWU hitters produced a .279 hitting percentage. In addition, she totaled 48 assists (six assists per set) between the two matches, while also adding 20 digs (2.5 digs per set).
Meghan Parker, Angelo State, was Angelo States most versatile player for offense and defense. She totaled 24 assists, averaging six assists a set for the Belles. She registered two service aces, scoring two points for the Belles, as well as nine digs on defense.
Kaitlyn Masseth, Midwestern State, averaged 5.64 assists per set to help lift Midwestern State to wins over Southwestern Oklahoma State and Texas A&M-Kingsville. The freshman posted back-to-back matches of 20+ assists for the first time in her career. Her 22 helpers against Texas A&M-Kingsville was a career-high.
Rae Sapiga, Eastern New Mexico, recorded her first double-double of the year with 26 assists and ten digs against UTPB. Leads the squad with 260 assists. Second on the squad with 15 service aces.