Houston Baptist Sweeps Volleyball Players of the Week
Southland Volleyball News and Stats
FRISCO, Texas – Houston Baptist junior Bailey Banks was named Southland Conference Women’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week junior Blair Gillard was named Defensive Player of the Week presented by UniversalCoin.com to begin the 2016 season, the league announced Monday.
Offensive Player of the Week – Bailey Banks, Houston Baptist
Junior outside hitter Bailey Banks recorded a double-double in all four matches to earn MVP honors and lead the Huskies to the team title with a 3-1 record at the Barcelona Labor Day Classic. She averaged 4.27 kills and 4.60 digs per set for the tournament, while adding three aces and two assists. In Friday morning’s four-set win over North Florida, Banks led the Huskies in kills and digs with 17 of each, then followed up with a 16-kill, 15-dig performance in that evening’s sweep of Penn. In Saturday afternoon’s loss to Northern Colorado, the Bears and Huskies tied the NCAA Division I record with a 45-43 score in the first set, and Banks finished with 16 kills and a career-high 21 digs. HBU closed the tournament with a four-set win over Toledo with Banks tallying 15 kills and 16 digs. Overall, she leads the Huskies in both kills (3.31/set) and digs (3.59/set).
Honorable Mention: Lauren Agan, Northwestern State; Jacey Smith, Abilene Christian; Jordan Vaughn, Sam Houston State.
Defensive Player of the Week – Blair Gillard, Houston Baptist
Junior middle blocker Blair Gillard helped lead HBU to the team title with a 3-1 record at the Barcelona Labor Day Classic, averaging 1.86 blocks per set and adding 1.60 kills per set. In the closing match, a four-set win over Toledo, Gillard had nine blocks and seven kills. She had eight kills and three blocks in Saturday morning’s loss to Northern Colorado, during which the Bears and Huskies tied the NCAA Division I record with a 45-43 first set. In Friday night’s sweep of Penn, Gillard totaled eight blocks and three kills, following an eight-block, six-kill performance in an opening four-set win over North Florida. She is now averaging 1.46 blocks per set for the season.
Honorable Mention: Channing Burelson, Northwestern State; Taylor Cunningham, Sam Houston State; Lexus Cain, Sam Houston State.
Each school’s sports information director nominates and votes for the players of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his or her own player. To receive honorable mention, a player must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland sports information directors
.