Hanlan Named Defensive Player Of The Week
8/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 31, 2009
FRISCO, Texas - Freshman libero Madison Hanlan was named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday for her efforts last week in four matches at the Northern Illinois Tournament.
It is the second consecutive season that a true freshman has won the league's weekly defensive honor in the season's opening week after UTA's Emily Shearin pulled the same feat in 2008; however, it is the first time that a Ladyjack has done it.
Hanlan led the Ladyjacks in digs in three of their four matches in DeKalb, Ill., last weekend as SFA picked up a pair of wins in four tries in Illinois. The Arlington, Texas, freshman kept alive season-high 19 balls in a win over Western Illinois on Saturday and followed that up with 15 more in only three sets that afternoon against Northern Illinois. Hanlan finished the week with a 4.23 dig-per-set average.
SFA has had its share of weekly defensive winners in recent years, including five last season between Laurel Kuepker and Mary Caitlin Bottles. The Ladyjacks had five winners in 2007, while former libero Stephanie Figgers dominated the award in her career winning the honor 15 times in her four-year career.
Hanlan and the Ladyjacks open up the home portion of their schedule on Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. match against Louisiana-Lafayette. That will be the final home match until SFA hosts the Ladyjack Invitational scheduled for Sept. 18-19.
-SFA-
