Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
RICHARDSON, Texas — Eastern New Mexico’s Andrea Aguilar was tabbed as the preseason defensive player of the year for the Lone Star Conference, which released its preseason volleyball poll Tuesday.
Angelo State was selected narrowly by coaches, athletic directors and media representatives to repeat as LSC champions. The Rambelles took 21 of the poll’s 32 first-place votes and scored a total of 340 points to finish ahead of Tarleton State, which scored 326 points and nine first place votes.
The Greyhounds, who finished fourth last year but graduated career kills leader Lauren Frye, were picked to finish sixth with 204 points. Ahead of the Hounds were Texas A&M-Kingsville (267), Texas A&M-Commerce (236) and West Texas A&M (233). The Javelinas and Lady Buffs each claimed one first-place vote.
The final five spots went to Western New Mexico, Texas Woman’s, Midwestern State, Texas-Permian Basin and Cameron.
In other individual preseason honors, Tarleton State’s Hailey Roberts was named Offensive Player of the Year while Angelo State’s Meghan Parker was tabbed Setter of the Year.
Roberts, a senior outside hitter from Cedar Park, Texas, was a first-team All-LSC selection after leading the league in kills (608) and kills per set (5.07). She ranked second nationally in kills and points per set to earn first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American and D2CCA Ron Lenz National Player of the Year honors.
Parker, a sophomore setter from San Antonio, earned LSC and AVCA Freshman of the Year honors with a league-best 1,424 assists in 2016.
Aguilar, a senior from Clovis, was a second-team All-LSC selection last season, and led the LSC with 5.08 digs per set.
The season begins in early September, with a 20-game LSC season — all 11 teams have a home and road match against every other conference foe. The top eight finishers in LSC play will advance to the postseason tournament, with the top seed hosting the three-day tournament Nov. 16-18. The tournament winner will receive the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
The Greyhounds open the 2017 season Sept. 1 in a neutral-site agame against Wayne State in Golden, Colorado. They are home Sept. 15 against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
