Southland Announces All-Conference Volleyball Teams
FRISCO, Texas - Lamar University, winner of the Southland Conference East Division title and top seed in the 2007 league volleyball tournament, placed three student-athletes on the 2007 All-Southland First Team as announced by the league office Wednesday.
Lamar senior Molli Abel was voted Southland Conference Player of the Year. Abel, the fourth Lamar player to win the conference’s highest accolade is the first Lady Cardinal to claim the honor since former Lamar standout Natalie Sarver hoisted the award in 2002. The Southland’s leading hitter posting a .403 hitting percentage, Abel received over half the league’s first place votes from coaches and SIDs.
Joining Abel on the All-Conference First-team are fellow Cardinals and award winners Adrianne Meengs, Setter of the Year, Shalayne Blythe, Newcomer of the Year and Kaci Brewer.
Second in total votes received and second in the SLC in assists (11.04), Meengs is the first Lamar player to claim Setter of the Year. Meengs is one of only two league players in 2007 with five triple-double performances and her three player of the week awards led the SLC.
Blythe was awarded Newcomer of the Year after posting a .325 hitting percentage and 71 kills in just 47 games of play. Brewer received First-team recognition after posting a 154 kills in 48 conference games. Second on the team behind Player of the Year Molli Abel.
A third place preseason pick by the coaches, the Lamar Lady Cardinals rolled up their sleeves and dug in for 2007, posting their best season under third year head coach Justin Gibert who was awarded the Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year after leading Lamar to a 24-8 overall record and 15-1 in league play. In route to the league’s top spot in the postseason tournament, Lamar accomplished what no other Southland team could do in three years-beat Stephen F. Austin in the regular-season. Lamar snapped SFA’s win streak at 62 matches on October 27 in Nacogdoches, 3-2.
Stephen F. Austin continued in 2007 as usual with eight player of the week awards and landing three First-team All-Conference selections, Traci Rohde, Lauren Railey and JJ Jones. The one Second-team member, Jami Hill, won Libero of the Year. The four All-Conference selections by SFA are the most by a league team.
Rohde returns to the First-team All-Conference after posting a .375 hitting percentage for second in the SLC and stonewalling attackers all season with a 1.35 blocks per game average for third in conference. On September 21 against Northwestern State, Rohde was lights out as she went 12-for-16 in kills for a .688 attack percentage. The second best mark in 2007 for a single match.
2005 Freshman of the Year Lauren Railey has moved up the charts each season claiming third team honors as a freshman in 2005, Second-team merits in 2006 and receives First-team All-Conference honors after finishing fifth in kills (3.58) and fourth in service aces (0.50) in 2007.
In 2007 Jones finished seventh in assists (9.21) and 10th in service aces (0.40). On November 7, Jones had 51 assists against UT Arlington, the most by a single player in a three game match in 2007. No stranger to First-team recognition, Jones is the fifth Ladyjack to earn three First-team honors. The most by any league team.
Since the inception of the Libero of the Year award in 2004 it has been owned by an SFA Ladyjack. This year is no different as Hill continues the tradition carried for three seasons by former teammate Stephanie Figgers (2004-06). Hill received the award after leading the conference in digs (6.37) and her 31 digs against UTA on October 4, and again on November 7, are the most by a single player in a three game match. Hill also is the only player to receive consecutive player of the week awards in 2007.
Claiming two First-team All-Conference selections UT Arlington senior Ellen Murray makes her first appearance on the Southland volleyball a-list while senior Torie Dacus returns for her second straight recognition.
Dacus led the Mavericks with a .288 attack percentage ranking ninth in conference. In 56 league games Dacus landed 162 kills and 11 service aces. Murray led the SLC in blocks (1.68) and owns three of the top four league performances for most blocks in a single match with 10 on three seperate occasions. Texas State on September 29, A&M-Corpus Christi on October 12 and Sam Houston State on November 10.
Sam Houston State senior Cynthia Yarotsky earned First-team All-Conference merits for the first time in her collegiate career after leading the conference in kills (4.14) and finishing seventh in digs (5.32). Yarotsky’s season, however, was full of notable accomplishments. She owns the top two performances in the SLC with the most kills in a five game match with 31 against Central Arkansas on September 21, and the most kills in a four game match with 29 against Northwestern State on September 22. Her game wasn’t just offensive, her 39 digs against UTA on November 10 is the most by a single player in a five game match.
UTSA junior Victoria Prior was selected First-team All-Conference for the first time after finishing third in kills (3.82) and 10th in blocks (1.02). Prior also had the most solo blocks in conference this season with 16. Her 20 kills against Southeastern Louisiana on October 26 is tied for the most kills in a three game match.
2006 Freshman of the Year Robyn Smith of Central Arkansas is one of only three sophomores ( Meengs, Brewer, LU) to earn First-Team All-Conference honors in 2007. Leading the SLC in assists (12.24) Smith owns three of the top five performances for most assists in a four game match (62,58,58).
Following her teammate, Chloe Smith of Central Arkansas was named Freshman of the Year after finishing second in kills (3.96). Smith had two notable performances in 2007. Her 20 kills against UTSA on October 21 are tied for most in a three game match and her 72 attempts against McNeese State on November 3 rank third for most in a five game match.
Texas State junior Amy Weigle landed on the First-team All-Conference after finishing third in hitting percentage (.351) and fourth in blocks (1.26). Making her first appearance on the conference a-list, Weigle had two of the more notable performances in 2007 with the third and fourth top attack percentage marks, .654 against A&M-Corpus Christi on September 22 and a .652 mark against McNeese State on October 20.
Players are awarded first and second team honors based upon votes by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. The top vote recipient is crowned the Southland Conference Player of the Year and from there the players are listed in the order of the number of votes received.
2007 All-Southland Volleyball Teams
FIRST TEAM
Name University Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown/Previous School
Molli Abel Lamar MB 6’0 Sr. Friendswood, Texas
Adrianne Meengs Lamar S 5’9 So. Friendswood, Texas
Traci Rohde Stephen F. Austin MB 6’2 Sr. Norman, Okla.
Lauren Railey Stephen F. Austin OH 5’10 Jr. McKinney, Texas
Cynthia Yarotsky Sam Houston State OH 5’11 Sr. Montgomery, Texas
Victoria Prior UTSA MB 6’2 Jr. Galveston, Texas
JJ Jones Stephen F. Austin S 5’10 Sr. Allen, Texas
Kaci Brewer Lamar OH 5’10 So. Castroville, Texas
Robyn Smith Central Arkansas S 5’9 So. Lubbock, Texas
Amy Weigle Texas State MB 6’1 Jr. Arlington, Texas
Torie Dacus UT Arlington RS 6’0 Sr. Red Oak, Texas
Ellen Murray UT Arlington MB 6’0 Sr. Arlington, Texas
SECOND TEAM
Name University Pos. Ht. Cl. Hometown/Previous School
Emily Neddermann UT Arlington S 5’10 Sr. Colleyville, Texas
Chloe Smith Central Arkansas MB 6’3 Fr. San Diego, Calif.
Kendra Rowland UTSA OH 5’11 Fr. Anitoch, Calif.
Jami Hill Stephen F. Austin Lib. 5’9 Sr. Bonham, Texas
Lawrencia Brown Texas State OH 5’10 Jr. Austin, Texas
Jessica Strama McNeese State Lib. 5’9 Sr. Lemont, Ill.
HONORABLE MENTION: Andrea Hamilton, LU; Sarah Cartie, MCN; Laura North, AMCC; Christie Feliz, AMCC; Emily Jones, TXST; Melinda Cave, TXST.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR -
Molli Abel, Lamar
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Chloe Smith, Central Arkansas
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR - Shalayne Blythe, Lamar
Libero OF THE YEAR - Jami Hill, Stephen F. Austin
SETTER OF THE YEAR - Adrianne Meengs, Lamar
COACH OF THE YEAR - Justin Gibert, Lamar