Southland Weekly Volleyball Update
11/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 6, 2000
Southland Weekly Volleyball - Nov. 6, 2000
Southwest Texas Wins Regular Season Crown For First Time in Nine Years The Southwest Texas Bobcats won the 2000 Southland Conference regular season title outright with a four-game win over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday. At 27-3 overall and 18-0 in Conference, the Bobcats won the crown for the first time since the 1991 season.
They are also two wins away from a perfect Southland season with McNeese and Sam Houston State left to play. No team has completed a perfect league season since 1992, when UTA went 9-0 (members played each other just once).
SWT, still ranked eighth in the Central Region, extended its winning streak to a record 21 matches, a run that began on September 12 against Texas-San Antonio. The former mark of 19 consecutive wins was set in 1986.
UTSA picked up a pair of Conference wins against SLU and Nicholls State. Tamara Luckemeyer joined the 20-20 club with a season-high 27 kills and 23 digs against the Lady Lions. She had a .484 hit%, averaging 4.5 kills per game as well as 4.00 digs per game on defense. Natasha Biggers is fourth in the country in assists behind SFA's Marissa Dorcheus with 14.85 apg. The Roadrunners are ranked in three team categories in the NCAA - sixth in kills with 17.90 kpg, seventh in assists with 16.90 apg and 11th in digs with 19.19 dpg.
Texas-Arlington earned a spot in the Southland Conference championship with three straight league wins. Trisha Walker, the Offensive Player of the Week, had 81 kills in 11 games for an average of 7.36. She recorded a .330 hit% and four service aces. Walker set two school records against Lamar with 35 kills and 90 attempts and posted double-doubles with 26 kills and 16 digs against Stephen F. Austin and 35 kills and 19 digs against Lamar. Amber Pack took the team leadership in digs with 60 to bring her total to 402 on the season. Pack's 5.45 digs per game combined with seven total blocks earned her Southland Defensive Player of the Week honors for the UTA sweep.
SFA, currently sitting in fourth place, has also wrapped up a Conference tournament spot as the Ladyjacks went 2-1. After dropping a decision to UTA, they defeated McN and LU. Kristy Rhodes, who is ranked ninth in the nation in kills, added 53 kills (5.3 kpg) to her league-leading average of 5.57 while Jenny Orndorff tallied five dpg and eight total blocks. Dorcheus is ranked third in the country in assists with 14.91 apg.
Lamar delayed securing a tourney slot by going 1-2 with both losses coming to Conference opponents. The Cardinals defeated Prairie View A&M earlier in the week, then lost to UTA in five and SFA in four on the road. LU had a 2-0 lead on UTA with wins of 16-14 and 17-15 before dropping the final three games. Shanda Hart registered a career-high 30 digs against UTA and double-doubles in both Southland matches. She averaged 5.5 dpg and added one block solo and four block assists.
McNeese also found itself playing UTA and SFA on the road, dropping both to fall to 9-8 in Conference but still in sixth place with a chance at the tournament.
The Cowgirls are being pursued by Southeastern Louisiana at 8-10. SLU defeated Southern in non-conference action, then dropped both matches to UTSA and SWT. Leading after two games against UTSA, the Lady Lions faltered to lose in five. They are now 0-5 in five-game matches this season, including four against Southland teams. SLU managed to take one game off Southwest Texas, preventing the Bobcats from the sweep with a 15-13 win in game three. Denise Kubena had double-digit kills in both Southland contests. Mandy Withrow dug 31 attempts and had three block solos and three block assists for the week.
Sam Houston State strung together two consecutive wins for the first time all year with victories over Louisiana-Monroe and Northwestern State. The Bearkats opened the week with a loss at Louisiana Tech, then rebounded in Southland action. Liz Dahlstrom hit 41 kills in 10 games with a .391 hit%. She also tallied four service aces, three block assists and 31 digs. Her double-double against the Demons consisted of 20 kills and 15 digs.
The regular season ends this week with Lamar, ULM, McN, NWLa., and SHSU finishing up at home. Two Conference tournament spots are still up for grabs. Lamar, the event's host institution, needs just win in its last three contests to get in. The Cardinals face UTSA, NICH and SLU. McNeese will see SWT, NICH and SLU, and the Friday meeting between the Cowgirls and Lady Lions in Lake Charles could be the decision-maker. Then again, so could the Southland's last match on the schedule, a Sunday afternoon contest between SLU and Lamar in Beaumont.
Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week Trisha Walker * senior * outside hitter * Texas-Arlington Trisha Walker of Dubuque, Iowa, averaged an impressive 7.36 kills per game last week, leading the Mavericks to three Southland victories, which secured them a spot in the Conference tournament. Walker recorded four service aces, 81 kills, and had a .330 hitting percentage. Ranked third in the Southland in kills per game, Walker set two school records against Lamar with 35 kills and 90 attempts, and posted two double-doubles with 26 kills and 16 digs against Stephen F. Austin and 35 kills and 19 digs against Lamar.
Also nominated: Liz Dahlstrom, SHSU, Denise Kubena, SLU, Kristy Rhodes, SFA, Tamara Luckemeyer, UTSA. Previous winners: Brigette Birdwell, LU, Kristy Rhodes, SFA, Anissa Parker, McN, Charlsie Heifrin, UTSA (twice), Laura Ivy, SWT, Urissa White, LU, Shenequa Bedford, SWT, Natalie Spann, SWT.
Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week Amber Pack * sophomore * outside hitter * Texas-Arlington Amber Pack of San Antonio, Texas, helped the Mavericks to three Conference wins and a tournament spot with 5.45 digs per game and seven total blocks last week. She dug 60 attempts in 11 games, including 20 against SFA and 29 against Lamar, and is currently third in the league in dpg.
Also nominated: Shanda Hart, LU, Mandy Withrow, SLU, Jenny Orndorff, SFA, Tamara Luckemeyer, UTSA. Previous winners: Natalie Sarver, LU, Jennifer Dallao, SWT, Shauna Stahl, SWT, Trisha Walker, UTA, Jennifer Dallao, SWT, Shanda Hart, LU, Alison Tuttle, LU, Shanda Hart, LU, Stacy Schmidt, UTSA.
-SLC-
