Sam Houston State Sweeps Week Eight Volleyball Awards
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Sam Houston State’s Brooke White and Taylor Cunningham are the Southland Conference Volleyball Players of the Week, the league announced Monday. Southland Players of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com.
The pair helped the Bearkats (11-9) run their win streak to eight straight games and remain undefeated in conference play with a 7-0 Southland record. They continue their three-game home stand with matches against UIW (4-12, 3-6 SLC) on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and defending champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-11, 6-3 SLC) on Saturday at noon.
Offensive Player of the Week: Brooke White, Sam Houston State – Sr. – Outside Hitter – Fort Worth, Texas
White was huge for Sam Houston State in two wins on the week, helping the first-place Bearkats extend their winning streak to eight consecutive matches, the longest in the program since 2012. She was biggest in the Kats’ biggest match of the week, a 3-2 comeback win at Houston Baptist. White turned in a monster double-double that night with 26 kills and a career-high 24 digs along with a pair of blocks. Here 26 kills were just two short of her career high set in 2016 against Rice, and he did it in efficient fashion, hitting .311 for the match with just seven errors in 61 swings. She turned around two days later and helped the Kats with a quick non-conference win over Prairie View with seven kills and 13 digs in minimal court time against the Panthers.
Honorable Mention: Reagan Rogers, Northwestern State; Madison O’Brien, Houston Baptist; Anyia Williams, Stephen F. Austin; Brittany Gilpin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Defensive Player of the Week: Taylor Cunningham, Sam Houston State – Jr. – Middle Blocker – Huntsville, Texas
Cunningham’s work at the net was a key part of the first-place Bearkats’ 2-0 week that saw them extend their winning streak. She had her biggest match in the Kats’ biggest win, a 3-2 comeback victory at Houston Baptist on Thursday. Cunningham turned in a match-high 11 blocks while also adding a dozen kills. The last Bearkat to total at least 11 blocks in a match was Kim Black in 2011. Cunningham then turned around and had an impact in a quick win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday afternoon, picking up another five blocks to go along with another seven kills against the Panthers.
Honorable Mention: Channing Burleson, Northwestern State; Bailey Banks, Houston Baptist, Alana Bramwell, Central Arkansas; Danae Daron, Stephen F. Austin.
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.