Angelo State and UT Tyler lead the Lone Star Conference standings with unblemished league records. UTT is the lone unbeaten team in NCAA Division II at 14-0 overall. The Rambelles and Patriots play this week in San Angelo, Texas.
LSC volleyball teams are 148-156 overall this season. The squads are currently 14-17 combined against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams, the other league in the NCAA Division II South Central Region.
LSC schedule and results available here:
http://www.lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=wvball&
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State, SR, Public Health, OH, Fort Worth, Texas, Boswell HS
Gilbreath was dominant in all facets for the Rambelles, averaging a triple-double for the second time in three weeks. Against Texas Woman's, she recorded her third-career triple-double with 13 kills, 20 assists and 14 digs, also hitting .419 in the match and not committing an attacking error. The next day against DBU, she buried 21 kills and hit .421 for the match, assisting 33 times as well. For the week, she recorded 4.25 kills per set while hitting .420, and totaled 34 kills, 53 assists, and 22 digs.
DEFENSIVE
Alissa Tolbert, St. Mary’s, SR, Exercise & Sport Science, OH, San Antonio, Marshall HS
Tolbert recorded a career-high 33 digs, the first time a Rattler has surpassed the 30-dig milestone in over two full years, in a four-set victory at St. Edward's. The 33 digs (8.25 per set) tie for the sixth-most in a four-set match in school history and are the third-highest total in the Lone Star Conference this season - and the most in a four-set match. The Hilltoppers were held to a .068 hitting percentage. She also led the team with 17 kills, notching her 12th double-double of the season.
SETTER
Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce, JR, Industrial Engineering, Setter, Guadalajara, Mexico
Vela recorded 51 assists in a 3-0 win for the Lions against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday. The 51 assists are the most by any setter in a three-set match this season in all levels of the NCAA and most by a LSC player in a three-set match since 2017. She added 44 helpers versus Texas A&M International in the four-set victory. Vela totaled 95 assists in seven sets (13.57 per set) this past weekend and leads the LSC with 595 total assists and an assist per set average of 10.44. For the week, the Lions hit .311.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
S-7 Christina Escamilla, UT Tyler
S-14 Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State
S-21 Jackie Alanis, Texas A&M-Kingsville
S-28 Mikayla Ware, UT Tyler
O-5 Maddy Rashford, Texas A&M-Commerce
O-12 Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M
O-19 Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State (2)
Defensive
S-7 Savannah Guzman, UT Tyler
S-14 Baleigh Allen, Angelo State
S-21 Hannah Froeschl, Lubbock Christian
S-28 Nicole Murff, Texas A&M-Kingsville
O-5 Baleigh Allen, Angelo State (2)
O-12 Chloe Patton, Angelo State
O-19 Alissa Tolbert, St. Mary’s
Setter
S-7 Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State
S-14 Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce
S-21 Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State (2)
S-28 Sadie Snay, West Texas A&M
O-5 Callie Craus, UT Tyler
O-12 Jaedyn Woolley, Angelo State
O-19 Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce (2)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Essence Allen, Texas A&M-Commerce, had 35 kills on a hitting percentage of .284 in two wins for A&M-Commerce this past weekend. She had a double double in both matches against Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville. She had a career high 21 kills on Friday against Texas A&M International and totaled 24 digs in seven sets played. She is 16th in the LSC with 2.84 kills per set and 17th with 3.25 points per set.
Mikayla Ware, UT Tyler, hit .327 and averaged 4.17 kills per set this weekend as UT Tyler remained as the only remaining undefeated team in Division II volleyball with 3-0 sweeps of Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International. Ware helped the Patriots to a .394 team hitting percentage for the weekend with 25 total kills. UT Tyler posted it's highest team hitting percentage in a single match in the Division II era for the program with a .468 mark in Saturday's win over Texas A&M International. Ware had 10 kills in that win for the Patriots following a 15-kill effort over Texas A&M-Kingsville in Friday night's match. The San Antonio, Texas native added 16 digs to the effort as well and provided 27.5 points for UT Tyler this weekend. She ranks third in the Lone Star Conference with an average of 3.93 kills per set.
Bria Augustine, Western New Mexico, had a great weekend leading the Mustangs to wins over Cameron and Midwestern State. Having 31 kills in two games, Augustine averaged 3.88 kills per set.
Jasmine Gannon, Eastern New Mexico, helped power the Greyhounds to a 3-0 sweep over Oklahoma Christian. Gannon led the Hounds with 17 kills, while also leading the team in 12 digs, for their seventh double-double of the season. In the loss to UAFS, she had six kills and four digs.
Aquincia Strambler, UT Permian Basin, and the Falcons dominated last week, sweeping both Midwestern State and Cameron. She had 14 kills and hit .250 on Thursday as the Falcons cruised in three sets over the Mustangs and had the final point on a service ace. The offense had two of their top three hitting performances on the season. On the season Strambler sits third in the LSC.
Jenna Lyons, Lubbock Christian, had a career performance week in helping LCU claim road wins at DBU and Texas Woman's (both 3-1 wins), as she led LCU with 24 kills on the weekend (3.00 kills per set on the week). She led LCU with 13 kills at DBU and followed co-leading the team with 11 kills against TWU for her first consecutive matches with double-figure kill totals for the season. Along with the offensive production, Jenna was solid on the defensive side. She matched a career high in blocks at DBU, with three, and then topped the mark with a career-high six blocks Saturday in Denton, Texas.
Lyric Hebert, Texas A&M-Commerce, played as the libero for the Lions in two wins for A&M-Commerce. She totaled 34 digs and three aces in seven sets against Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville. She had 20 digs and eight assists against Texas A&M International on Friday. She is seventh in the LSC with an average of 4.61 digs per set.
Savannah Guzman, UT Tyler, had 24 digs in the Patriot 3-0 wins over Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M International to remain as the lone undefeated team remaining in Division II volleyball. Guzman was essential in limiting the opposition to a team hitting percentage of .125 between the two matches, posting dig totals of 10 and 14 in the two matches. She also successfully returned all 14 of her reception attempts between the two matches and added 11 assists for the weekend.
Eliana Moultrie, Western New Mexico, was a critical piece in stopping Cameron and Midwestern State. Moultrie had 32 digs, averaging 4 digs a set, helping set up kills to for the Mustang offense.
Delaney Fuller, Angelo State, was impactful on the defensive side for the Belles this past week. Against TWU, she recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 digs as well as 11 kills. Against DBU, she recorded a career-high 18 digs as she helped hold the Lady Patriots to a .148 attack percentage.
Hannah Froeschl, Lubbock Christian, helped LCU to road wins at DBU and Texas Woman's (each were 3-1 wins) with sound defensive and offensive play, leading LCU in points (30.0) and blocks (14) on the week. She had 10 kills, seven blocks and an ace in each victory. Each of her seven-block performances matched a career high, and she has completed the task four times this season (the marks are also the LCU individual highs for the season). On the offensive side, she hit .333 against DBU and finished the week hitting .235.
Jalee Sims, Lubbock Christian, served as another puzzle piece in connecting LCU to a 2-0 week, as they claimed a pair of 3-1 road wins (at DBU and Texas Woman's), producing back-to-back double-doubles for her 11th of the season and 21st of her LCU career. She posted 39 assists, 10 digs and a block at DBU prior to flirting with a triple-double at Texas Woman's, as she contributed 34 assists, 19 digs and six kills (hit .353) in an 8.0-point performance. Sims also posted a trio of aces, with two registered at TWU.
Analise Lucio, UT Permian Basin, was an all-around star last week as the Falcons didn't drop a set. Not only did the team hit .318 for the week, they put up two of their top three performances on the season. Lucio was right in the middle of that recording 8.7 assists per set including an eye popping 37 on Thursday. She was an offensive force herself, recording nine kills on 13 attempts without an error. Defensively Lucio racked up 17 digs and three blocks. On Thursday the senior finished with 37 assists, 13 digs, five kills, and three blocks.
Kailyn Gilbreath, Angelo State, was the metronome of the Belles' attack this past week as they stay undefeated in LSC play. Against Texas Woman's, she assisted 20 times as the Belles hit .287 against the Pioneers. Against DBU, the senior assisted 33 times with the Belles hitting .307 on the match. Gilbreath also averaged a triple-double for the week, including her third-career triple double against Texas Woman's (13 kills, 20 assists, 18 digs).
Madelynn Culp, Western New Mexico, dished out the ball very well with 47 assists. Culp led the Mustangs to a 2-0 record over the weekend, averaging 5.875 assists a game versus Cameron and Midwestern State.