2017 SFA Volleyball Camp Report: Middle Blockers
8/22/2017 7:58:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Daron returns to lead a group of five SFA middles
In preparation for the upcoming volleyball season, SFAJacks.com will be doing a position-by-position preview of the 2017 Ladyjacks. This is the last of those four pieces and it focuses on the middle blockers - Alexis Alexander, Danae Daron, Shayla Eagleton, Anyia Williams and Lauren Wright.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - By the numbers for the Stephen F. Austin volleyball team, the position that took one of the hardest hits in terms of production lost following 2016 was middle blocker. Gone is three-time All-Southland Conference First Team choice Justice Walker who accounted for over 25-percent of the team's total blocks and nearly 20-percent of the team's kill total one season ago.
Rather than having the piece they lost serve as the focal point heading into preseason workouts, the Ladyjacks have been busy getting reps from a group of players who are intent on making sure the team upholds the high standard already in place at the position.
"Any time you graduate somebody like Justice who was a three-time first team all-conference player, people tend to think you won't be as strong in the middle, but I think we'll be plenty strong," explained 30th-year head coach Debbie Humphreys.
Up front, that strength will come primarily from Danae Daron who earned an All-Southland Conference Honorable Mention nod one season ago after being one of just five players - and the only freshman - to play in all 31 of the Ladyjacks' matches.
Joining forces with Walker in the front row in 2016, the Crosby, Texas, product lifted SFA's front-row defense to the top spot in the 13-team Southland Conference by averaging 2.53 blocks per set. That mark was the 36th-highest in the nation one season ago and with Daron on their side the Ladyjacks held opponents to a hitting percentage of .168 - another Southland Conference-leading figure.
"Danae had a great run last year as a freshman and through preseason we have seen her offense get better and better," Humphreys continued. "She plays the game extremely high above the net and her arm swing continued to improve."
Upgrading a skill set that yielded some of the best numbers in the Southland Conference as a freshman would unquestionably be massive asset for the Ladyjacks. Daron's .276 attack percentage and 1.08 blocks per set as a freshman were the ninth-best and fifth-best marks respectively among all Southland Conference players and made her the league's only freshman to break into the top-ten in each of those statistical categories.
Joining her sophomore classmate as the only other returner among SFA's group of middle blockers is Shayla Eagleton. Although she found it difficult to work her way onto the court last season with Daron and Walker holding things down, the Richmond, Texas, product did play in six sets across four matches. In that time, she posted six kills and a pair of block assists and brought a style to the court that contrasted that of SFA's pair of regulars.
"Shayla beats people with her speed," Humphreys said. "She's one of those deceiving kids across the net because she doesn't look overly big or strong but in reality she's very strong and really quick. She's usually quicker than who she's facing on the other side, so she presents a very different style of middle than Danae."
By virtue of having a number of versatile outside hitters like Makenzee Hanna among their ranks, the Ladyjacks could experiment with sliding some of them over to play middle before settling on a regular lineup. Testing and analyzing multiple lineups will also give Humphreys and the Ladyjacks' coaching staff a chance to see what their freshmen middles bring to the table.
It may not take very long for Alexis Alexander and Anyia Williams to get used to each other's tendencies and styles of play as they played volleyball together at Cedar Park High School before signing on with the Ladyjacks. While the former missed out on her senior volleyball season due to an injury, the latter racked up 347 kills, 311 digs and 44 service aces for a Longhorns squad that made the cut for the 6A regional playoffs.
"Anyia is a super athlete and it's just going to take a little time for her to get used to the speed at this level," said Humphreys. "The speed coming at her is what's getting her right now, but I just expect her to keep getting better and better as she goes against it every day in practice.
"After a frustrating 2016 club season and missing her senior high school season, Alexis is healthy and playing great volleyball," Humphreys commented. "She plays with lots of energy every time she steps on the court and she is willing to do the work required at the middle blocker position."
Both freshmen earned reps during the team's intrasquad scrimmage inside Shelton Gym last Saturday and showed they could easily slide in and excel at middle blocker. The final member of the team's contingent of middle blockers, Lauren Wright, was also hampered by an injury prior to coming to SFA, but is in the process of returning to full strength. Once she does, her 6-foot-2 frame should provide with the team with yet another high-quality option in the middle.
"Lauren is a very good blocker and as her arm swing improves she will be a potent force offensively as well," Humphreys said. "We're excited about working with her because she has an extremely high ceiling."
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Released earlier in the month of August, the 2017 Southland Conference preseason poll projected the Ladyjacks to finish second in the 13-team league behind two-time defending champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Cain and sophomore setter Ann Hollas secured preseason All-Southland Conference accolades, too. SFA's lone senior, Cain earned a spot on the All-Southland Conference Preseason First Team while Hollas was tabbed as an All-Southland Conference Preseason Second Team performer after taking over as the squad's go-to setter in the early stages of 2016.
The Ladyjacks' 2017 campaign begins Friday, August 24, on the campus of Stetson University in DeLand, Fla. While there, SFA will be one of four teams that make up the field for the Stetson Invitational and the Ladyjacks are set to take on Florida International in the second match of the invitational's first day at 3:30 p.m.
-SFA-
