Daron Claims First Career Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week Award
9/10/2018 2:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Junior middle blocker averaged 1.71 blocks per set during Ladyjacks' 5-0 week
FRISCO, Texas - For the first time in her collegiate career, SFA middle blocker Danae Daron claimed the title of Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The league made that announcement in a press release issued Monday afternoon after the front row defense of the junior from Crosby, Texas, helped the Ladyjacks win The Fredonia Hotel/Holiday Inn Express SFA Invitational while extending their winning streak to six matches.
Daron made life exceptionally difficult for opposing hitters inside Shelton Gym last week and never finished with fewer than four total blocks in each of the four matches she appeared in. Leading off the week by racking up a season-best seven block assists during a straight-set victory over Sun Belt adversary Louisiana-Monroe, Daron continued her defensive dominance against Tennessee State by totaling another seven block assists.
Against St. John's Daron blocked six balls and closed out her high-powered defensive week with a four-block performance against Stetson Saturday morning. For the week the junior averaged 1.71 rejections per set and helped limit SFA's opponents to a collective attack percentage of .126.
Offensively, Daron was just as deadly through the five-match stretch. She led all of the Ladyjacks' primary attackers with a hitting percentage of .409 while averaging 2.71 terminations per frame. Twice she generated double-digit kills with with the first occurrence coming against Tennessee State where she totaled 14 and hit .571 for the match. Daron followed that up with a 10-kill showing in the Ladyjacks' straight-set triumph over BIG EAST combatant St. John's.
Currently, Daron's numbers rank among the best in the Southland Conference as she checks in at fourth in the league in blocks per set (1.12), sixth in attack percentage (.308) and ninth in points per set (3.44). She also leads SFA in all of those statistical categories.
Tuesday afternoon at 5:00 p.m., Daron and the rest of the Ladyjacks close out their six-match homestand by welcoming in-state rival Rice to Shelton Gym for a non-conference showdown. Fans unable to make it to the match can follow along on ESPN+ with Greg Miller and Brittany Castledine on the call.
-SFA-
