Four Lone Star Conference teams – Oklahoma Christian, UAFS, Texas A&M-Kingsville, and West Texas A&M – were undefeated last week. WT tops the standings at 14-0 in LSC action and 22-4 overall.
The top eight teams will qualify for the postseason tournament hosted by the No. 1 seed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 10-11-12. The LSC champion will be determined by regular season games, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC tournament champion and earns the conference’s automatic qualification.
This week’s games will round out the championship field with WT, DBU, Texas A&M International, Texas A&M-Kingsville, UT Tyler, and St. Mary’s having clinched spots.
LSC volleyball teams are 224-221 overall this season. The squads are currently 13-14 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
Hannah Holland, UAFS, SR, Middle Childhood Education, Middle Blocker, Fort Smith, Ark., Southside HS
Holland led the Lions to a 3-0 week by hitting .514 with 21 kills, 10 aces and 11 blocks. She started the week with six kills and three aces in a sweep of UT Tyler on Wednesday. Holland hit .875 with seven kills and four blocks in three games over Angelo State, then hit .353 with eight kills, five blocks and seven aces in a Senior Day win over UT Permian Basin. The seven aces ties the mark for the second most in a match in program history and equals the most in the LSC this year.
DEFENSIVE
Lauren Weber, UAFS, JR, Business Administration, Libero, Nixa, Mo., Nixa HS
Weber led the Lions in digs in all three matches as UAFS posted a 3-0 week. She posted 18 and 16 digs, respectively, in sweeps over UT Tyler and Angelo State and completed the weekend with 25 digs in a four-set win over UT Permian Basin in which they held the Falcons to a .096 attack percentage for the match. For the week, had 5.90 digs per set and helped hold opponents to a .121 hitting percentage.
SETTER
Olivia Hessman, Oklahoma Christian, SR, Exercise Science, Setter, Wichita, Kan., Andover HS
Hessman led OC's offense to a pair of wins, dishing out double-digit kills to three hitters in each match and recording a double-double in both. On Friday, Hessman had 36 assists and 22 digs in the four-set victory over UT Permian Basin. She had a career-high 43 assists and 21 digs on Saturday to spark a comeback win in five against Angelo State. Hessman also had 7 kills (season-high), 4 assisted blocks, and points against ASU.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
A-30 AJ Koele, DBU
S-6 Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M
S-13 Mikayla Ware, UT Tyler
S-20 Torrey Miller, West Texas A&M (2)
S-27 Ayanna Jackson, Texas A&M-Kingsville
O-4 Ayanna Jackson, Texas A&M-Kingsville (2)
O-11 AJ Koele, DBU (2)
O-18 Megan Menchaca, Texas A&M International
O-25 Megan Menchaca, Texas A&M International (2)
N-1 Hannah Holland, UAFS
Defensive
A-30 Morgan Demuth, Oklahoma Christian
S-6 Taytum Stow, West Texas A&M
S-13 Dakota Rogers-Hurtado, UT Tyler
S-20 Taytum Stow, West Texas A&M (2)
S-27 Leah Palensky, DBU
O-4 Hannah Thompson, Texas A&M International
O-11 Emma Patterson, West Texas A&M
O-18 Dallasstar Johnson, St. Mary’s
O-25 Kayla Elliott, West Texas A&M
N-1 Lauren Weber, UAFS
Setter
A-30 Emma Lade, Texas A&M International
S-6 Lauryn Burt, DBU
S-13 Adeline Ortman, UT Tyler
S-20 Ainsley Malis, West Texas A&M
S-27 Syndey Whitmire, Texas A&M-Kingsville
O-4 Lauryn Burt, DBU (2)
O-11 Lauryn Burt, DBU (3)
O-18 Blair Moreland, West Texas A&M
O-25 Ainsley Malis, West Texas A&M
N-1 Olivia Hessman, Oklahoma Christian