Five teams remain undefeated as Angelo State and UT Tyler have started the season 4-0, while  St. Mary’s, Texas A&M-Commerce, and Texas A&M-Kingsville are 2-0.
      The Spring 2021 volleyball slate will feature a “bubble” format for 16 teams with four divisions consisting of four teams each on Tuesday-Wednesday playing dates.  Each team has 12 divisional games over six weeks against the same opponent at the same site.  Regular season competition will begin on Jan. 26 and will conclude on March 10 with the week of March 15-20 reserved for make-up contests.
      The LSC Volleyball Championship will include 12 teams with the top three in each division.  The opening round is set for March 23, followed by the quarterfinals on March 24, semifinals on March 30 and championship match on March 31.
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Hannah Callison, UT Tyler, JR, Interdisciplinary Studies, OH/RS, Richmond, Texas, William B. Travis HS
Callison helped lead UT Tyler to a third and fourth straight win to open up the 2021 spring schedule this week. The Richmond, Texas native totaled 28.5 points in the two wins against Texas Woman's, compiling 26 kills over the course of the week and posted an attack percentage of .270. Callison notched nine kills on Tuesday night in a three-set sweep and then helped lead a charge on Wednesday night with a team-high 17 kills to defeat the Pioneers in five sets. Callison and the rest of the Patriots offense leads the Lone Star Conference with a team hitting percentage of .273 and is one of just two teams that have posted a record of 4-0 through the first two weeks of competition alongside Angelo State.
 
DEFENSIVE
Sydney Andersen, Texas A&M-Commerce, SR, Accounting, OH, Placentia, Calif., El Dorado HS
Andersen was the Lions' top all-around performer, recording a pair of double-doubles in the pair of five-set wins over DBU. In the Tuesday match, she hit .151 with 16 kills, 20 digs and four service aces. She followed that up Wednesday with 13 kills, 20 digs, and an ace. She also had 37 service receptions without an error and chipped in on three blocks, while holding DBU to a .099 hitting percentage, giving TAMUC second in the league in opponent hitting percentage.
 
SETTER
Taylor Stoops, UT Tyler, JR, Marketing, S, Waxahachie, Texas, Waxahachie HS
Stoops continued to provide for the Lone Star Conference's top statistical offense in week number of conference play, totaling 48 assists in two wins over Texas Woman's. Stoops had her best night in a five-set win over the Pioneers on Wednesday night, recording 32 assists and 21 digs to help push the Patriot win streak to four straight games to open up 2021. The Waxahachie, Texas native also led the squad with 30 digs between the two matches.
 
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
J-29      Evelyn Torres, UT Tyler
F-4       Hannah Callison, UT Tyler
 
Defensive
J-29      Mikayla Ware, UT Tyler
F-4       Sydney Anderson, Texas A&M-Commerce
 
Setter
J-29      Taylor Stoops, UT Tyler
F-4       Taylor Stoops, UT Tyler (2)
 
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
      Sydney Andersen, Texas A&M-Commerce, was the Lions' top all-around performer, recording a pair of double-doubles in the pair of five-set wins over DBU. In the Tuesday match, she hit .151 with 16 kills, 20 digs and four service aces. She followed that up Wednesday with 13 kills, 20 digs, and an ace.
      Chandler Vogel, West Texas A&M,  continued to lead the way in the back row for the Lady Buffs this past week in a pair of Lone Star Conference road losses at #7 Angelo State. The Hereford, Texas product registered 61 digs over the nine sets for an average of 6.77 per frame to go along with 13 assists. Vogel continued her way up WT's all-time digs list as she passed former All-American Shannon Stroud (1999-03) for fifth place on the list with 1,920. Tuesday saw Vogel register 24 digs in the back row followed by a great performance on Wednesday night as the senior finished just one assist shy of her first career double-double with nine assists and 37 digs which is just one dig shy of her career high. The Lady Buff defense forced the powerful ASU offense to hit just .196 in the pair of matches.
      Hattie Murray, UT Tyler, led UT Tyler in blocks in both matches over the week in a pair of wins over Texas Woman's. She notched three total blocks in Tuesday night's 3-0 sweep, and then followed up that performance with eight blocks in Wednesday night's five-set win. Those eight blocks on Wednesday night matched the ninth highest block total in a single game in UT Tyler volleyball history. The Krum, Texas native recorded 15.5 points over the course of the two matches and helped limit Texas Woman's to just a .190 team hitting percentage for the week.
      Celeste Vela, Texas A&M-Commerce, was the Lions' top setter in a pair of five-set wins over DBU. She did not play in the early stages of the Tuesday match, but still came in and passed out 11 assists. She was the primary setter in the Wednesday match and passed out 39 assists.