Nov. 17, 2010
ARLINGTON, Tex. - Amanda Aguilera earned First-Team All-Southland Conference honors, the league announced Wednesday afternoon.
Libero Alicia Shaffer and right-side Bianca Sauls were also named Second-Team All-SLC.
"It's great," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "With a record of 10-6, I'm very pleased we were able to get three kids on the all-conference teams. One First-Team and two Second-Teams recognition awards is good for us because there are a lot of good players in the Southland Conference and there were a couple of kids with outstanding records and they were well-represented as well. It just shows how well we started to play at the end of the year that three kids were able to get recognition."
This season marks the second time Aguilera has made an all-conference team, also earning First-Team All-SLC honors as a freshman.
The junior outside hitter finished fifth in the league in kills per set in conference play (3.83). She also led all non-defensive specialists in digs per game (3.52), ranking 10th overall in the league.
"It feels really good to get First-Team, especially when I think about who I was competing against," Aguilera said. "There are a lot of good hitters in our conference and there were a lot of people who deserved it. I couldn't have done it without my teammates and coaches."
Aguilera started the season coming off the bench after she lost out on a starting position. By midseason, though, the Pearland, Tex. native regrouped and started playing at the level that made her an all-conference pick as a freshman.
"At the beginning of the season I wouldn't have thought I would be a first-team pick but as the season picked up I got a little more confident and started playing better," Aguilera said.
Aguilera finished the season with 13 double-doubles in 22 starts. She also topped the 10-kill mark in 18 of her 22 starts, including a 28-kill performance against Sam Houston State - the individual single-match high for the SLC this year.
Shaffer finished second in SLC Libero of the Year honors after leading the league by nearly 0.5 digs per game in SLC play.
She finished with 6.22 digs per set in SLC matches and led the conference in digs in a three-set match (28 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), digs in a five-set match (43 at Stephen F. Austin) and tied for the SLC-high in digs in a four-set match (37 at Northwestern State). Behind Shaffer's strong play, UT Arlington finished the season as the SLC's best digging team in conference matches.
"It feels great to make all-conference," Shaffer said. "It's really an honor because there are not really many liberos awarded with all-conference. I really appreciate it and it feels really good to get recognized and I want to thank my coaches and teammates for making it possible."
Sauls, a senior, made an all-conference team for the first time in her career. She made Honorable Mention All-SLC last year. Sauls, the team's emotional leader, ranked in the top 20 in attack percentage in SLC matches (.246). She also ranked 15th in digs per set (3.06) and placed third on the Mavericks in kills per game (2.24).
Sauls' best match this season came against McNeese State when she finished with 12 kills and a .706 attack percentage. Her .706 hitting percentage marked the second-best total in the league this year.
Sauls also recorded the first triple-double of her career earlier this year in a 3-1 win over Southeastern Louisiana and finished the regular season with nine double-doubles.
"That's a great award for me, but I know it's because of my teammates that I was able to earn it," Sauls said.
Awards are given out based on voting by coaches and sports information directors.
UT Arlington faces Sam Houston State in the first round of the Southland Conference Tournament. First serve Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
2010 All-Southland Conference Volleyball Teams
First Team
Name School Pos.
Chloe Smith^ Central Arkansas RS
Kendra Rowland* UTSA OH
Jessica Hays Central Arkansas OH
AJ Watlington Texas State OH
Carli Kolbe# Sam Houston State OH
Kelsey Jewasko# UTSA L
Marissa Collins Central Arkansas S
Emma Ridley# Texas A&M-Corpus Christi OH
Jayme Bazile Lamar MB
Kelsey Schwirtlich UTSA S
Amari Deardorff Texas State RS
Amanda Aguilera# UT Arlington OH
Second Team
Name School Pos.
Alicia Shaffer UT Arlington L
Amber Calhoun# Texas State MB
Bianca Sauls UT Arlington OH
Cristin Curl# Central Arkansas L
MC Bottles* Stephen F. Austin MB
Danielle Daigle Nicholls L
#-Two-time all-conference
*-Three-time all-conference
^-Four-time all-conference
Honorable Mention: Taylor Hammonds, Central Arkansas; Christina Hobbs, Lamar; Katie Kennedy, McNeese State; Becky Bekelja, McNeese State; Laranda Spann, Northwestern State; Kaylee Hawkins, Sam Houston State; Kim Black, Sam Houston State; Whitney Walls, UTSA; Briana Mason, UTSA.
Individual Award Winners
Player of the Year - Chloe Smith, Central Arkansas
Libero of the Year - Kelsey Jewasko, UTSA
Freshman of the Year - Marissa Collins, Central Arkansas
Setter of the Year - Marissa Collins, Central Arkansas
Newcomer of the Year - Christina Hobbs, Lamar
Coach of the Year - Steven McRoberts, Central Arkansas
