Walker Named Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week
10/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Complete Southland Conference Release
FRISCO, Texas – For the second time in 2016, Stephen F. Austin senior middle blocker Justice Walker laid claim to the title of Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week it was announced by the league office Monday afternoon.
The Fort Worth, Texas, product played a major role in keeping the Ladyjacks in control of the number-two spot in the conference standings by helping the squad go 2-0 during the course of last week. Over one-third of SFA’s 40 total blocks came courtesy of Walker, who averaged 2.17 rejections per set in a pair of Southland Conference sweeps.
Again Central Arkansas on Thursday, Walker amassed six block assists and followed that up by totaling one solo block and six more block assists in a 3-0 victory over Northwestern State on Saturday afternoon in Shelton Gym. Neither UCA or NSU enjoyed major productivity on offense that to Walker as the teams combined to hit only .065.
By conjuring up 13 total blocks, Walker pushed her 2016 total to 101 and moved into first place among all Southland Conference players in blocks per set (1.28). On the Ladyjacks’ all-time blocking charts, the senior ranks 10th in career solo blocks (52), ninth in career block assists (353) and eighth in total blocks (405).
As well as her unparalleled efforts on the defensive side, Walker achieved a major milestone of the offensive variety through SFA’s 2-0 week. With seven kills in the 3-0 sweep of Central Arkansas, she upped her career kill total to 1,000. Walker is the first Ladyjack to register 1,000 kills in a career since Jill Ivy reached the 1,000-kill plateau in the 2014 campaign.
In all, Walker averaged 2.50 kills per set and did not commit an attacking error during those two matches. Her weekly hitting percentage was an impressive .652.
Walker and the rest of the Ladyjacks are preparing to depart Nacogdoches for a three-match road trip beginning with a Thursday night Southland Conference match in Beaumont, Texas, against Lamar. First serve between the Ladyjacks and Cardinals has been set for 7:00 p.m. in McDonald Gym.
-SFA-
