Ward, White Win Weekly Volleyball Honors
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Sam Houston State’s Jaclyn Ward and Brooke White are this week’s Southland Volleyball Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the league announced Monday. Southland Players of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com.
Ward and White were instrumental for the Bearkats in a 2-0 week at home, including a 3-1 win over UIW (4-13, 3-8 SLC) on Thursday and a five-set victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-13, 6-5 SLC) on Saturday. Sam Houston (13-9, 9-0 SLC) remains the only undefeated team in league action while school rival Stephen F. Austin (21-5, 9-1 SLC) is closely behind as the only one-loss squad.
This is Ward’s first Southland weekly award of her career. It is White’s first defensive award after claiming offensive honors a week ago. The Bearkats also swept last week’s accolades.
Offensive Player of the Week: Jaclyn Ward, Sam Houston State – Jr. – Setter – Spring, Texas
Ward directed the Bearkat offense to its 10th straight win and extended its best start to league play to 9-0. The junior setter averaged 11.78 assists per set in wins over UIW and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, picking up double-doubles in each match. She led the Kats to a .242 attack percentage for the week and kicked things off with a 51-assist, 15-dig performance with a pair of blocks against the Cardinals. She then led the Kats to a five-set win over the Islanders with 55 assists, 11 digs and four blocks. In conference play, Ward leads all players with 11.46 assists per set. She ranks third in overall matches with 10.19 assists per set.
Honorable Mention: Reagan Rogers, Northwestern State; Abbie Harry, Central Arkansas; Bailey Banks, Houston Baptist.
Defensive Player of the Week: Brooke White, Sam Houston State – Sr. – Outside Hitter – Fort Worth, Texas
While White downed 11 kills against UIW and 18 to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this past week, it was her defensive efforts that helped Sam Houston State remain perfect in the Southland. The senior from Fort Worth, Texas, tallied 20 assists each match and finished the week averaging 4.44 digs per set. She also added three blocks on the week, including two block solos.
Honorable Mention: Hailey Erickson, Houston Baptist; Danae Daron, Stephen F. Austin; Amanda Chapa, Abilene Christian; Megan Nash, Central Arkansas; Channing Burleson, Northwestern State.
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.