Southland Weekly Volleyball Update
10/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2000
Top Five Go Undefeated for the Week, Southwest Texas 8th in Region The top five teams in Southland volleyball went undefeated last week, thus distancing themselves from the bottom half of the Conference as the regular season winds down. The top six qualify for the Southland Conference Championship Nov. 16-18 in Beaumont, Texas, on the Lamar University campus.
In the bi-weekly regional poll, Southwest Texas has moved up a spot to eighth in the Central Region. Adding three more victories, the Bobcats are on a 16-match winning streak, their second longest since the 1986 streak of 19. Their 41-game winning streak was broken at Northwestern State on Saturday. The Demons won game three, 15-7, before losing in four. For the week, Shenequa Bedford led the offensive charge for SWT, hitting .427 percent on 45 kills in 10 games. She recorded 21 kills in a sweep of Rice, including 10 in one game. Bedford, who posted double-digit kills in all three matches, recorded a .714 hit% against Louisiana-Monroe. On defense, Shauna Stahl had a season-high 24 digs in the 3-1 win at NWLa. She averaged 4.1 digs per game and added three block assists.
Texas-Arlington earned three Conference victories to stay in second place. Trisha Walker had a .250 hit%, 46 kills, three service aces, and 4.18 kills per game. She currently has 1,182 career kills, which moves her into eighth place on UTA's all-time career list. Amber Pack, last year's Southland Freshman of the Year, averaged 4.1 digs per game and went up for six block assists. In less than two seasons, Pack has totaled 827 career digs for the Mavericks. UTA travels to San Marcos Friday for a battle between the top two teams in the league. On Saturday, the Mavs square off at Texas-San Antonio, the number three team.
UTSA is enjoying a four-match winning streak after defeating Northwestern State and ULM on the road. Stacy Schmidt, who leads the Conference in digs and is ranked seventh in the nation, was a powerful offensive and defensive weapon for the Roadrunners. Schmidt registered a .367 hit%, 4.7 kills per game, three assists and an ace as well as digging 4.7 attempts per game and adding a block assist. UTSA hosts its next three contests at home against McNeese State, Stephen F. Austin and UTA.
SFA stepped outside of the Southland to begin the week with a sweep of Louisiana Tech. The Ladyjacks then defeated Nicholls State and Southeastern Louisiana at home for three league wins to keep pace in fourth place. The conference kills leader, Kristy Rhodes, who is also ranked eighth in the country, posted a .388 hit% on 42 kills, and averaged 4.7 kpg. Also leading SFA last week was Jenny Orndorff, who tallied 35 digs and seven block assists. SFA looks up the standings for its next three contests, playing the top three teams in the Southland.
Lamar defeated McNeese State, 3-1, on Tuesday, then traveled to Huntsville Saturday and beat Sam Houston State, 3-1. With the road victory, the Lady Cardinals improved their away record to 10-1 on the season with the lone loss coming at McN at the opening of the Conference slate in September. LU took game one from SHSU with the aid of a 7-0 run. After dropping game two and falling behind 6-0 at the beginning of game three, Lamar went on a 15-1 run to win the game and eventually the match. Shanda Hart recorded 22 digs in each match for an average of 5.5 dpg. She also registered two block solos and five block assists in eight games. The Lady Cards play league leader SWT in San Marcos Tuesday before returning home to host three in a row.
McNeese State lost to Lamar, then defeated Sam Houston State for the split. At 7-5, the Cowgirls sit in sixth place and have two of three at home this week.
Southeastern Louisiana swept ULM, then dropped both contests to SFA and UTA, taking the Mavericks to five games. The Lady Lions will host two non-conference matches this week with Grambling and Prairie View A&M visiting Hammond, La., on Tuesday. SHSU is on the schedule for Thursday, then SLU gets a weekend off.
After losing to UTSA the night before, Northwestern State took a game from regionally ranked Southwest Texas on Saturday in a 3-1 loss. The scrappy Demons stretched the match to an hour and forty-five minutes, somewhat unfamiliar to the Bobcats, who had finished off their opponents in three straight the last 12 matches.
The bottom three in the Conference were winless last week. Sam Houston State dropped three and now heads out for five consecutive road matches before ending the season with three home contests. Nicholls State has lost nine in a row while Louisiana-Monroe has extended it losing streak to 17 this season.
Offensive Player of the Week Shenequa Bedford * senior * middle blocker * Southwest Texas Shenequa Bedford of Houston, Texas, led Southwest Texas to three victories last week with 45 kills, a .427 hitting percentage and an average of 4.5 kills per game. She has 21 kills against Rice, including 10 in one game. Bedford hit .714 against Louisiana-Monroe and posted double-digit kills in all three matches.
Also nominated: Kristy Rhodes, SFA, Trisha Walker, UTA, Stacy Schmidt, UTSA.
Previous winners: Brigette Birdwell, LU, Kristy Rhodes, SFA, Anissa Parker, McN, Charlsie Heifrin, UTSA (twice), Laura Ivy, SWT, Urissa White, LU.
Defensive Player of the Week Shanda Hart * sophomore * outside hitter * Lamar For the second time this season, Shanda Hart of Logan, Utah, has earned Defensive Player of the Week honors in the Southland. Hart helped Lamar win two Conference matches, recording 22 digs in each match for an average of 5.5 per game. She added two block solos and five block assists.
Also nominated: Shauna Stahl, SWT, Jenny Orndorff, SFA, Amber Pack, UTA, Stacy Schmidt, UTSA.
Previous winners: Natalie Sarver, LU, Jennifer Dallao, SWT, Shauna Stahl, SWT, Trisha Walker, UTA, Jennifer Dallao, SWT, Shanda Hart, LU, Alison Tuttle, LU. -SLC-
