Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame Names Cain Volleyball Athlete of the Year
2/28/2018 12:05:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
SFA senior closes out career as one of best liberos in program history
AMARILLO, Texas - Earlier in the month of February, Stephen F. Austin volleyball senior Lexus Cain earned the title of Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame Volleyball Athlete of the Year. The announcement, which was made by the Amarillo, Texas, based Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame, came on the heels of a 2017 season in which Cain product helped the Ladyjacks claim the 2017 Southland Conference regular season title.
"I am so grateful and honored to receive this award," said Cain, a native of Amarillo. "I am beyond thankful to have been a part of such an amazing program and team. None of this would have been possible without the help of my coaches and teammates."
Started in 1958, the Texas Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame has been inducting student-athletes and coaches from various high school and collegiate institutions who have ties to the western region of the state of Texas.
During her final season of collegiate volleyball, Cain wound up on the receiving end of All-Southland Conference Second Team and Southland Conference All-Academic Second Team honors after leading the Ladyjacks back to the top of the 13-team league. SFA's libero captained one of the best back lines both in the Southland Conference and in all of NCAA Division I volleyball as SFA ranked second in the league in both opponent hitting percentage (.168) and digs per set (16.56).
Respectively, those figures ranked 32nd and 51st among all NCAA Division I volleyball teams and individually Cain scooped up 554 digs - or an average of 4.54 per set - through the 2017 season.
Upon tallying up Cain's final numbers, her 1,624 career digs are the fifth-most in program history while her 4.54 digs per set this season represent the 10th-highest single-season mark. Through 461 sets played, Cain averaged 3.52 digs which is the fifth-best digs per set average in the history of Ladyjack volleyball.
Cain helped the Ladyjacks go 26-8 throughout the 2017 campaign. Included in those 26 wins were 14 in Southland Conference play which helped SFA capture its first regular season title since 2014. The team's 26 wins were the most since 2007 and the Ladyjacks returned to postseason action for the first time since 2006 after making the cut for the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
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