Central Arkansas' Anderson, Sam Houston State's Wallace Named Volleyball Players of the Week
FRISCO, Texas – Central Arkansas’ Samantha Anderson and Sam Houston State’s Madison Wallace were named the Southland Conference Volleyball Players of the Week, league officials announced Monday. All weekly awards are presented by
MidSouth Bank.
Anderson boosted the Sugar Bears (20-5, 10-2 SLC) to a pair of victories over Lamar (6-17, 3-9 SLC) and McNeese (7-20, 5-7 SLC) dropping only one set on the week. Central Arkansas is now riding a four-match win-streak as they head into their final four regular-season contests.
Wallace provided tremendous defensive poise for the Bearkats (19-5, 11-1 SLC) who picked up wins against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (7-18, 6-6 SLC) and Houston Baptist (12-14, 5-7 SLC). The Sam Houston State defense currently ranks sixth in the nation limiting their opponents to a .149 hitting percentage.
Offensive Player of the Week: Samantha Anderson, Central Arkansas – Sr. – Right Side – Tyler, Texas
The senior led Central Arkansas in kills (32), kills per set (3.2), and hitting percentage (.314) on the week, tallying double-digit kills in both matches. Anderson turned in 12 kills against Lamar before adding 20 at McNeese. The Tyler, Texas native also had nine blocks on the week. The weekly honor marks the second of the season for Anderson.
Honorable Mention: Ann Hollas, Stephen F. Austin; Taylor Cunningham, Sam Houston State; Madison Green, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Hannah Brister, Northwestern State
Defensive Player of the Week: Madison Wallace, Sam Houston State – Sr. – Libero – Pasadena, Texas
Wallace turned in a huge week in helping the Kats to a pair of five-set road wins, running their win streak to eight in a row and keeping them within one match of first place in the league. Since taking the libero jersey on Sept. 8, Wallace and the Kats are 15-1 as she has surged to second in the SLC in digs per set. Wallace averaged 7.50 digs per set in the wins last week, posting consecutive matches with more than 30 digs. She went for 38 digs in a win at A&M-Corpus Christi on Oct. 25 and followed that up two days later with a 37-dig outing in a win at Houston Baptist. Those marks rank as the third and fifth most digs by a SLC player this season and each rank in the top seven for single-match performances all-time at SHSU. This marks the second Player of the Week accolade for Wallace this season.
Honorable Mention: Andrea Nava, New Orleans; Haley Coleman, Stephen F. Austin; Samantha Anderson, Central Arkansas
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.