Lone Star Conference volleyball teams begin league play this week after two weeks of tournament action.
      LSC volleyball teams are 86-59 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
Lauren Kersey, Tarleton State, SO, Biology, Right Side, Norman, Okla., Norman North HS
Kersey led No. 9 Tarleton with 58 kills in four matches in the Colorado Premier Challenge where the Texans went 2-2 with wins over host Metro State and No. 12 Central Missouri. Kersey posted double-digit kills in the first three matches of the tournament with 17 against No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State, 19 against Metro State, and 16 against No. 12 Central Missouri. Kersey also hit a team-leading .339 at the net and had 3.22 kills per set.
 
DEFENSIVE
Keely Hardin, DBU, SR, Communications, Defensive Specialist/Libero, Austin, Texas, Brentwood Christian School
Hardin helped guide the Lady Patriots to a perfect 5-0 mark last week.  From her libero position, Hardin totaled 88 digs and averaged 4.63 digs per set.  She also set a career-high in digs with back-to-back 28-dig performances against Missouri Southern State and Oklahoma Baptist.  Hardin's performance led DBU to a in on Tuesday over East Central and a 4-0 record at the 2019 Pioneer/Patriot Tournament.
 
SETTER
Strealy Sizelove, DBU, SR, Kinesiology, Setter/Defensive Specialist, Argyle, Texas, Argyle HS
Sizelove helped lead the Lady Patriots to a perfect 5-0 mark last week after posting 112 assists and an average of 5.89 assists per set.  In DBU's five-set win over Oklahoma Baptist, Sizelove totaled a season-high 32 assists.  Sizelove's performance helped guide the Lady Patriots to win over East Central on Tuesday and a 4-0 record in the 2019 Pioneer/Patriot Tournament.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
S-10     Shelley Chapron, Texas A&M-Commerce
S-17     Lauren Kersey, Tarleton State
 
Defensive
S-10     Sofia Tonga, Tarleton State
S-17     Keely Hardin, DBU
 
Setter
S-10     Kayla Brannon, Tarleton State
S-17     Strealy Sizelove, DBU
 
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
      Hannah Thomas, Lubbock Christian, claimed All-Tournament honors, helping the Lady Chaps to a 3-1 record at the Chap Classic in Lubbock. She posted double figures in kills in all four matches, coming a kill shy of matching a career high in two of the contests with 16 kills in wins over Pittsburg State and Black Hills State. Thomas produced her first career double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs in LCU's loss to Dixie State.
      Lindsey Smith, West Texas A&M, dominated on the front row for the Lady Buffs last weekend as WT went 3-1 at the Skyhawk Volleyball Classic in Durango with wins over Texas A&M International, Adams State and Fort Lewis while falling to #4 Washburn to move to 6-1 overall on the season. The Fort Worth native earned All-Tournament accolades as the senior registered 47 kills on 78 swings with just four attack errors to hit .551 on the weekend to go along with one assist, two aces, five digs and eight total blocks (one solo, seven assisted) to score 53.5 points. Saturday's finale against the host Skyhawks saw Smith set a new career high with 18 kills on 30 swings to hit an impressive .533 in the four-set win.
      Brooke Clark, DBU, helped lead the Lady Patriots to a perfect 5-0 mark last week, totaling a team-high 72 points and leading DBU with 65 kills.  Clark also posted a .227 hitting percentage on the week as the Lady Patriots knocked off East Central on Tuesday, before winning all four matches in the 2019 Pioneer/Patriot Tournament.
      Melanie Casteel, Texas A&M-Kingsville, led the Javelinas in kills in every match during the Emerald Beach Hotel Invitational, as TAMUK collected three wins in five tries. She also crafted a hitting percentage of .323 in 130 attacks with 58 kills, an average of 3.41 per set and 10 total blocks. Her best performance came in a sweep of Westminster, as she piled up 18 smashes against only three errors while attacking at .441 clip. In four of TAMUK's nine matches in 2019, Casteel has posted a kill rate of better than .400.
      Alexa McAndrew, St. Edward’s, paced the Hilltoppers to a 3-1 weekend, averaging 3.69 points per set. She also led SEU in digs per set 3.46. Had a team high 19 kills against Westminster.
      Sydney Andersen, Texas A&M-Commerce, was a strong offensive presence for the No. 20 Lions last week at the Colorado Premier Challenge. In her first match, she had 18 kills as she helped the Lions to an upset win over No. 1 Tampa. She also had 11 kills in the team's four-set win against West Florida and 13 kills in the team's five-set loss to No. 12 Central Missouri.
      Maddie DeGuire, Lubbock Christian, helped the Lady Chaps to a 3-1 record at the Chap Classic in Lubbock. She posted at least 21 digs in all four matches, averaging 23.8 digs for the four matches. Her high on the week was a career-high 26 digs (8.7 per set) in a three-set straight-set win over Southwestern Oklahoma State, as LCU set a program record for digs (87) in a three-set match. The team's 89 digs were the highest by a NCAA Division II program this season in a three-set match (the highest last season was 104 by Upper Iowa). The mark by LCU was the highest total in a three-set match by a Lone Star Conference program since Angelo State had 90 digs on Nov. 8, 2014 against LCU. DeGuire's 26 digs ties as the sixth most by an individual this season.
      Shelley Chapron, Texas A&M-Commerce, was extremely impactful on the defensive side for the No. 20 Lions at the Colorado Premier Challenge. She had 20 blocks over four matches, and also came up with multiple digs in three of the four matches. The senior from Houston had five blocks while also adding 19 kills in the Lions' five-set win over No. 1 Tampa. She then had seven blocks and five digs in the team's win over West Florida, and more blocks in the team's five-set loss to No. 12 Central Missouri. Against some of the premier teams in Division II, Chapron helped lead the Lion defense, holding opponents to under .200 hitting during the tournament. After two weeks of play, Chapron is the LSC leader in both blocks and blocks per set, while also leading the league in kills.
      Sofia Tonga, Tarleton State, led No. 9 Tarleton at the Colorado Premier Challenge with 15 blocks in four matches while the Texans took down tournament host Metro State and No. 12 Central Missouri over the weekend. Tonga had six blocks against No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State and six blocks against Metro State in a five-set thriller.
      Bradi Marshall, Lubbock Christian, helped LCU to a 3-1 record at the Chap Classic in Lubbock, leading the team with 162 assists at a rate of 10.8 per set. Her high on the week was a 46-assist contest (11.5 per set) in a 3-1 win over Black Hills State. She had a trio of double-doubles on the week, reaching her 20th career double-double (fourth of the season) in the win over BHSU. In her double-double Thursday over Southwestern Oklahoma State, she posted a career-high 24 digs, as LCU set a program record for digs in a three-set match with 89. Averaged 40.5 assists and 14.5 digs per match for the week (averaged 3.9 digs per set on the week).
      Kayla Brannon, Tarleton State, led the way for Tarleton once again as the No. 9 Texans maneuvered through another one of the nation’s most elite tournaments – the Colorado Premier Challenge in Denver. With Brannon leading the offense, Tarleton recorded wins over tournament-host Metro State and No. 12 Central Missouri. Brannon dished out 107 assists for an average of 5.94 assists per set in Tarleton’s 6-2 offensive scheme. Brannon also had three double-doubles.
      Emily Tran, St. Edward’s, ran the offense for the Hilltoppers as they went 3-1 in Kingsville...averaged nearly six assists per set and nearly 2 digs per set. Added 25 digs and three kills.