Figgers Dominates Post Season Awards
11/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 16, 2006
FRISCO, Texas - After ending the regular season with their second straight undefeated conference slate, the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks once again dominated the Southland Conference's postseason awards, landing three first-team picks in Stephanie Figgers, JJ Jones, and Traci Rohde. Lauren Railey earned a second-team spot and Shelly Swendig was given an honorable mention. SFA also brought home four of the six superlative awards, including its third consecutive player of the year and libero of the year awards and its second straight setter of the year honor. SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys was also named the Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year.
Figgers not only earned her second consecutive first-team pick, but took her third straight libero of the year award, which is in its third year of existence. She was also given the league's top honor in being named player of the year.
This season, the 5-4 Katy, Texas, native, has tallied 723 digs, crushing her own record by over 100 and giving her ownership of four of the top six season records at SFA. Currently, her 6.89 digs per game ranks second in the NCAA. Her career digs total reached 2,468 last weekend, surpassing Houston's Jaci Gonzalez' record of 2,451, which ranked second in the NCAA.
Jones, a junior, earned her second straight first-team honor and setter of the year award after leading the league all season in assists and assists per game. Her 1,385 assists this season currently rank seventh all-time at SFA. She is averaging 13.19 assists per game, which ranks 20th in the nation.
Rohde, a 6-2 native of Norman, Okla., was given her second all-conference honor, but her first on the first team. She is averaging 1.45 blocks per game, narrowly missing the NCAA's Top 30, where she has spent some time throughout the year. The average is also the best at SFA. She has put up 152 total blocks, fourth all-time at SFA, with her 138 block assists ranking second in school history.
It is the second straight year for Railey, a sophomore, to get an all-conference honor and the first time for classmate Swendig.
After leading her team to consecutive undefeated conference records (19-0, 16-0) and finishing 2006 with a 27-3 overall record, Humphreys received her fourth Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year honor.
The Ladyjacks are heading into the conference tournament once again as the No. 1 seed this weekend in San Antonio. SFA will face No. 8 Northwestern State Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. from the Convocation Center on the Texas-San Antonio campus.
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