2019 Sun Belt Volleyball News and Notes:
Standings | Composite Schedule | Stats
AROUND #SUNBELTVB
• Sun Belt Conference volleyball continues tournament play with 37 matches over the next seven days.
• Coastal Carolina (6-0) remains as the only unbeaten team in the Sun Belt. The six-match winning streak ties the school record for best start to a season with the 1996 team. The Chanticleers' opening set win against East Tennessee State on Sept. 7 marked a program record of 16-straight sets won to begin a season.
• Troy (5-1) enters the week on a four-match winning streak. The Trojans are off to a 5-1 start for the first time since 2014. Sophomore setter Amara Anderson's Sun Belt Setter of the Week honor this week marked the second time in her career she received the honor in back-to-back weeks and the fourth time a Trojan has done so in school history.
• Louisiana (4-3) and South Alabama (4-3) roll into the weekend on four-match winning streaks of their own.
• Among the NCAA Division I statistics leaders, a pair of Sun Belt defensive specialists rank in the top 12 in dig per set – Georgia State sophomore Lauren Bandera ranks tied for ninth at 6.25 and Appalachian State junior Emma Reilly ranks 12th at 6.22.
• ULM sophomore outside hitter Kate Blasingame (5) and Arkansas State junior outside hitter Peyton Uhlenhake (4) lead the Sun Belt in double-doubles.
• Texas State head coach Karen Chisum enters the week two wins shy of recording her 900th career victory. With that milestone victory, Chisum will become the seventh NCAA Division I volleyball head coach to reach the 900-win plateau. She ranks third among active NCAA Division I volleyball coaches in wins and 13th all-time across all NCAA divisions.
• The 2019 Sun Belt Women’s Volleyball Championship, hosted by Texas State, is set for Nov. 21-24 at Strahan Arena at the University Events Center in San Marcos, Texas.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kara Spicer, Appalachian State (Jr., MB, Peoria, Ariz.)
Appalachian State junior middle blocker Kara Spicer hit a sizzling .509 and posted 36 kills (3.27 per set) on the weekend at the Duke Invitational, earning her second-straight All-Tournament Team honor. Spicer also posted 11 blocks (1.00 per set) in three matches. Against UNC Wilmington, she hit .667 with 17 kills (3.40 per set) against just one error, while adding three blocks. Spicer followed that up with 11 kills (3.67 per set) and a .368 hitting mark with five blocks (1.67 per set) in a sweep of Wofford. She added eight kills (2.67 per set) and three blocks (1.00 per set) against host Duke.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emma Reilly, Appalachian State (Sr., DS, Evergreen Park, Ill.)
Appalachian State senior libero/defensive specialist Emma Reilly tallied 67 total digs (6.09 per set) at the Duke Invitational on the way to her second-straight All-Tournament Team honor. Against UNC Wilmington, Reilly tallied a match-high 25 digs (5.00 per set), while adding a season-best four service aces. She had a season-high 26 digs (8.67 per set) in a sweep of Wofford. Reilly also recorded the 1,000th dig of her career against Wofford. Against Duke, she tallied 16 digs (5.33 per set) and two service aces.
SETTER OF THE WEEK
Amara Anderson, Troy (So., S, Alpharetta, Ga.)
Troy sophomore setter Amara Anderson averaged 11.44 assists per set in the Trojans' 3-0 sweeps over Chattanooga, Jacksonville and Murray State to win the Troy Invitational. Anderson compiled 103 assists in the three matches and added 15 digs, four service aces and two block assists. She took home All-Tournament Team honors for the second time in as many weeks.
FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Celeste Darling, Louisiana (Fr., RS, McKinney, Texas)
Louisiana freshman right side hitter Celeste Darling served as the main catalyst for the Ragin' Cajuns' offense, averaging 3.42 kills per set on a .404 hitting percentage, in a perfect 3-0 weekend during the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic. Darling totaled 41 kills over the three-match tournament, playing only on the front row at right side hitter, and set her collegiate-high in kills twice. She registered a .300-plus percentage in each match, which saw her attempts at least 25 swings each outing. Darling landed at least three kills each set on the way to a match-high 16 against McNeese. She dominated the second set of the sweep of Eastern Michigan, totaling six kills in the frame and serving up the final seven points as Louisiana rallied from a 22-18 deficit. In the tournament finale, Darling connected on a career-high 17 kills on only 28 attempts and posted four blocks against Florida A&M. For her efforts, she was named the classic's Most Valuable Player.
2019 Weekly Award Winners
Offensive Player
September 2: Cheyenne Hayes, Troy
September 9: Kara Spicer, Appalachian State
Defensive Player
September 2: Lauren Bandera, Georgia State
September 9: Emma Reilly, Appalachian State
Setter
September 2: Amara Anderson, Troy
September 9: Amara Anderson, Troy
Freshman
September 2: Brigitta Petrenko, Coastal Carolina
September 9: Celeste Darling, Louisiana
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thursday, September 12
1-Western Carolina at Appalachian State, 5:30 p.m.
2-Texas State at Texas A&M (SEC Network Plus), 6 p.m.
3-Stephen F. Austin at Arkansas State, 6:30 p.m.
Friday, September 13
4-Georgia State vs. Alabama, 9 a.m.
5-Coastal Carolina vs. Albany, 9:30 a.m.
6-UNC Asheville at Georgia Southern, 10 a.m.
7-Little Rock vs. Ole Miss, 10:30 a.m.
8-Louisiana vs. Arizona State, 11 a.m.
9-UTA vs. Liberty, Noon
2-UTRGV vs. Texas State, 12:30 p.m.
7-Oral Roberts vs. Little Rock, 4 p.m.
10-ULM vs. Mississippi Valley State, 4 p.m.
8-Louisiana vs. Georgia Tech, 5 p.m.
2-Texas State vs. Northwestern State, 5 p.m.
1-Iowa State at Appalachian State (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
6-Southern Miss at Georgia Southern, 5:30 p.m.
5-Coastal Carolina at Towson, 6 p.m.
4-Georgia State at UAB, 6 p.m.
11-Troy at Saint Louis, 6 p.m.
3-Rice at Arkansas State, 6:30 p.m.
9-UTA at Washington State, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 14
5-Youngstown State vs. Coastal Carolina, 10 a.m.
10-Nicholls vs. ULM, 10 a.m.
12-South Alabama vs. Samford, 10 a.m.
11-UT Martin vs. Troy, 10 a.m.
4-East Tennessee State vs. Georgia State, 11 a.m.
8-Louisiana at Oklahoma, 11 a.m.
6-Winthrop at Georgia Southern, Noon
3-Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Arkansas State, 1:30 p.m.
9-UTA vs. Idaho State, 2:30 p.m.
10-ULM at Louisiana Tech, 4:30 p.m.
12-South Alabama at Kennesaw State (ESPN+), 5 p.m.
1-North Carolina State at Appalachian State (ESPN+), 5:30 p.m.
11-Marshall vs. Troy, 5 p.m.
Central Arkansas at Little Rock, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, September 17
Georgia Southern at North Florida, 5 p.m.
South Alabama at Alabama State, 7 p.m.
All Times Central and Subject to Change
Key:
1-Appalachian State Invitational, Boone, N.C.
2-Texas A&M Invitational, College Station, Texas
3-A-State Invitational, Jonesboro, Ark.
4-Blazer Invitational, Birmingham, Ala.
5-Towson Invitational, Towson, Md.
6-Georgia Southern Invitational, Statesboro, Ga.
7-Central Arkansas Invitational, Conway, Ark.
8-OU Nike Invitational, Norman, Okla.
9-Cougar Challenge, Pullman, Wash.
10-LA Tech Invitational, Ruston, La.
11-Billiken Invitational, St. Louis, Mo.
12-Owl Invitational, Kennesaw, Ga.