Sun Belt Conference Weekly News and Notes (Week 5)
2016 Sun Belt Conference Composite Schedule
2016 Sun Belt Conference Standings
2016 Sun Belt Conference Statistics
2016 Sun Belt Conference Scoreboard
Conference Play Opens
With four consecutive weekends full of tournament play, teams are now about to get back into the grind of conference play. Teams will play the first of 16 matches this Friday and will continue through the end of the season.
New Year, New Changes
With the addition of Coastal Carolina the Sun Belt now has 12 teams in women’s volleyball and will compete in divisional play for the 2016 season. This is the first time since the 2012 season the Sun Belt will compete in divisional play. Teams will play 16 conference games with the East division comprising of Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, South Alabama and Troy. The West division will comprise of Arkansas State, Little Rock, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, UT Arlington and Texas State.
Championship Aspirations
With 12 teams and only eight championship spots available teams will embark on the 16-match conference season with the top four finishers in each division, based on overall conference win-loss percentage earning a berth into the championship. The two divisional champions will be seeded No. 1 and No. 2 and after they are positioned seeds Nos. 3 through 8 shall be determined based on overall conference winning percentage, regardless of division.
Warrington Claims Fourth Straight Honor
Senior Mallory Warrington of Arkansas State was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Setter of the Week for the fourth straight week to open the 2016 campaign. Warrington put together another solid week in which the Red Wolves registered a 2-2 record. The Lake St. Louis, Mo., native did her part at setter by handing out 177 assists (11.80 per set) during the four matches. She dished out 46 against Missouri State and had 45 more against Indiana.
ULM’s Jenkins Breaks School Record
ULM’s Tara Jenkins posted a double-double with 15 digs and a new school record of 62 assists in a five set match against Jacksonville State on Saturday, Sept. 17. The previous record was set by Bayleigh Hoffman against Appalachian State in 2014. Jenkins recorded an average of 12.4 assists per set.
Pair of Jags Earn Honors
South Alabama freshman Iva Durdanovic and redshirt junior Abby Baker were honored with a trio of weekly awards. Durdanovic was named the SBC Offensive Player of the Week and the SBC Freshman of the Week, while Baker was named the SBC Defensive Player of the Week.