Angelo State and UAFS hold matching 13-1 Lone Star Conference records with two weeks of action remaining.
LSC volleyball teams are 226-198 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
Anna Demmer, UAFS, SR, Media Communications, OH, Lee's Summit, Mo., Lee's Summit North HS
Demmer had another dynamic weekend on the road with a pair of double-doubles as UAFS defeated Texas A&M-Commerce and UT Tyler. The senior powered the Lady Lions' offense with 39 overall kills (4.33 per set) while adding 43.5 points over the weekend. Demmer led the Lady Lions to a crucial win against Texas A&M-Commerce with 12 kills and 12 digs in the five-set victory. She had an explosive offensive performance against UT Tyler with a season-high 27 kills while hitting at a .303 clip, and 30 digs. The 27 kills is the fifth most in Division II for a four-set match this season and tops the LSC this year.
DEFENSIVE
Anna Demmer, UAFS, SR, Media Communications, OH, Lee's Summit, Mo., Lee's Summit North HS
Demmer played both ends equally well this weekend in road wins against Texas A&M-Commerce and UT Tyler. She recorded a total of 42 digs (4.67 per set) and six blocks which held the UAFS opponents to a .153 hitting percentage. Demmer recorded a season-high 30 digs against UT Tyler to help the Lady Lions sweep the conference road trip.
SETTER
Kayla Brannon, Tarleton State, SO, Education, S, Moore, Okla., Southmoore HS
Brannon led Tarleton to a pair of road wins over UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico with 86 assists in seven sets for an average of 12.2 assists per set. The Texans hit .278 for the week as she recorded 43 helpers in each set.
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
N-5 Anna Demmer, 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
N-5 Anna Demmer, UAFS
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
N-5 Kayla Brannon, Tarleton State (2)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Bria Augustine, Western New Mexico, recorded her third and fourth consecutive double-double over the weekend. In a three-set sweep over Dallas Baptist, the Bell Flower native notched 12 kills and 18 digs. Augustine threw down 17 kills, and 12 digs, taking a tough Tarleton squad to four-sets, with all but one decided by just two points. The sophomore averaged 4.14 kills per set, to hit .233, while also averaging 4.29 digs
Kylee Becker, UT Tyler, after three consecutive matches with single-digit kills, Becker returned to form with two double-digit performance in kills in 4-set matches against Cameron and UAFS... Tallied 15 kills in 4-set win over Cameron and led the Patriots in a 4-set defeat to UAFS with 17 kills and 14 digs... Added 3 blocks in each match
Alexa McAndrew, St. Edward’s, led the Hilltoppers to a pair of wins over St. Mary's to keep the top spot in the division. She posted a team-high 17 kills on Friday on 31 attempts.
Carmen Kinsey, Tarleton State, Carmen Kinsey enjoyed a career week with 25 kills in seven matches as Tarleton handled both sides of their western road swing to UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico. Kinsey averaged 3.57 kills per set on a .310 hit percentage to go along with three assists, nine digs, and three blocks for a team-high 26.5 points.
Jasmine Gannon, Eastern New Mexico, recorded back-to-back double-doubles last week with 12 kills and 12 digs against Texas A&M International and 20 kills and 13 digs against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Recorded season-highs in kills (20) and points (23.5) in Eastern's first win in Kingsvilles since 2004. Leads the team with 208 kills and ranks second with 205 digs.
Haley Coulter, Angelo State, was ASU's MVP over the weekend. She registered 21 kills overall against Midwestern State and Texas Woman's, as well 15 digs on defense. She averaged 3.5 kills a set and had a hitting percentage of .392. The senior from Bradenton, Florida also registered one solo block and three service aces.
Shelley Chapron, Texas A&M-Commerce, was on fire for the Lions on the offensive end, hitting .523 last week while committing just one attack error. The senior had 12 kills against UAFS, hitting .423 against the Lady Lions in the team's five-set loss. She then had 12 kills once again, hitting .667 against Cameron in the Lions' sweep. Chapron also added nine points on the defensive end with her blocking ability, and also had three aces.
Meghan Merlino, Texas A&M-Kingsville, reached double-digits in kills in both of TAMUK's matches over the weekend. Against West Texas A&M on Friday, she led the team with 10 smashes and posted the squad's best hitting percentage at .364, making only two errors on 22 attacks. One day later, she recorded her first double-double of the season, logging 18 digs and 11 kills while adding a season-high four blocks. For the week, Merlino hit .220 while averaging 2.63 kills per set.
Morgan Schwarz, Lubbock Christian, produced a .375 hitting mark on the week with a pair of double-digit kill performances as LCU had a pair of dramatic matches, winning 3-2 over Texas Woman's and Midwestern State to mark consecutive five-set wins for the first time since early in the 2015 season. She had 11 kills on a .478 hitting clip over Texas Woman's (12.0 points) and followed with 10 kills and a .280 hitting mark over MSU (10.5 points).
M'Lee Vinson, Eastern New Mexico, recorded a career-high 27 digs in back-to-back games against Texas A&M International and Texas A&M Kingsville. Leads the squad with 222 digs. Helped team to its first victoru in Kingsville since 2004.
Savannah Guzman, UT Tyler, recorded back-to-back 20-dig matches, her fourth and fifth 20-dig matches of the season... led the team in digs against UAFS as UT Tyler posted a team season-high in digs (102).
Maddie DeGuire, Lubbock Christian, led LCU on the week with 40 digs, posting 22 against TWU and 18 against MSU. Her digs came at a rate of 4.0 per set. She also contributed five assists and an ace. The Lady Chaps went 2-0 on the week, with consecutive 3-2 five-set wins for the first time since early in the 2015 season, as they defeated Texas Woman's and Midwestern State.
Tatyana Tuialii-Umi, Tarleton State, showed her defensive prowess for Tarleton in road wins at UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico last week. The senior right side boasted double-double performances with kills and digs in both matches, including 15 at UT Permian Basin and a team-high 11 at Western New Mexico. She averaged 3.71 digs per set and had a flawless reception percentage in serve-receive on 24 attempts. She also added four blocks and 21 kills for the week.
Makenna Hanssen, Angelo State, continues to be Angelo States wall of defense that cannot be torn down. She registered 16 digs against Texas Woman's and Midwestern State and help both opponents to a combined average of .109 hitting percentage for the weekend.
Shelley Chapron, Texas A&M-Commerce, in addition to impressive offensive numbers, was also a force on the defensive end for the Lions last week. She recorded nine blocks over two matches and altered several swings at the net. She had seven blocks against UAFS and added a solo block and an assisted block in the Lions' sweep of Cameron. She also had three digs on the week.
Laura Doocy, St. Edward’s, led the SEU defense to a pair of wins over St. Mary's to hold onto the top spot of the division...she posted nine blocking assists to help hold the Rattlers to a .104 attack percentage. Doocy added 11 kills with just three errors on 26 attempts
Gabby Emery, West Texas A&M, the reigning LSC Setter of the Week continues to lead the Lady Buffs this past weekend to road sweeps at Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International. The Gilbert, Arizona native dished out 68 assists (11.33/set) to go along with six kills, three service aces and 21 digs for 9.0 points as WT improved to 18-4 overall.
Amanda Van Wyk, UAFS, had another outstanding weekend helping Lady Lions finish sweep their conference road trip against Texas A&M-Commerce and UT Tyler. Overall, Van Wyk recorded 98 assists (10.8 per set) while also adding 34 digs, 15 kills and 18 total points. Her setting helped the Lady Lions to a .221 hitting percentage. Van Wyk had a season-high 56 assists in the match against UT Tyler while adding 42 against Texas A&M-Commerce which helped UAFS even out the season series.
Bradi Marshall, Lubbock Christian, led the team with a combined 106 assists in the 3-2 wins over Texas Woman's and Midwestern State as LCU had a pair of dramatic matches, winning consecutive matches in five sets for the first time since early in the 2015 season. Marshall had 55 assists over TWU and 51 over MSU for her sixth and seventh career 50+ assist performances of her career. It marks the first time in her career she has had back-to-back games with at least 50 assists. Along with the 106 assists, she had 16 digs against TWU and 12 verses MSU for 28 on the week, which allowed her to collect her 33rd and 34th career double-double. Marshall has double-double performances in nine consecutive matches. The sophomore averaged 10.6 assists per set, 2.8 digs per set and also combined for four aces and four kills on the week. She posted three aces against MSU.
Analise Lucio, UT Permian Basin, helped the Falcons to a 1-1 record against Tarleton and DBU. She helped the Falcons hit .206 in both matches on the week, leading UTPB with 58 total assists in the pair of three-set matches.
Taylor Stoops, UT Tyler, distributed 44 assists with 11 digs while playing a 5-1 in a 4-set win over Cameron, then produced 22 assists and 21 digs in a 4-set defeat to UAFS.
Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce, was again an efficient distributor running the Lions' 6-2 offense, averaging more than seven assists per set. Against UAFS, she had 29 assists. She then had 28 assists over three sets in the Lions' sweep of Cameron, more than nine assists per set. She helped the Lions hit nearly .400 in the match.
Madison Heald, St. Edward’s, led the offense to a pair of wins over St. Mary's...leading the SEU offense to a .258 attack percentage. Heald added 18 digs and one kill in the two matches.
Madelynn Culp, Western New Mexico, was key in the Mustang offense over the weekend. The sophomore setter averaged 6.43 assists in seven sets played, while also applying pressure behind the service line with five service aces. Against Tarleton, Culp averaged 7.25 assists in four sets played.
Rae Sapiga, Eastern New Mexico, recorded a career-high 36 assists against Texas A&M Kingsville in ENMU's first victory on the road against the Javelinas since 2004. Helped team to its highest attacking percentage this season against a LSC team with a .226 attacking percentage against TAMUK. Leads the squad with 366 assists.
Meghan Parker, Angelo State, to show her versatility on the volleyball court for Angelo State in their sweeps against Midwestern State and Texas Woman's. The senior from San Antonio, Texas registered 35 assists against MSU and TWU, helping the Belles to a .331 hitting percentage for the weekend. Parker registered eight digs and one service ace as well.