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SWAC Announces 2006 Volleyball Preseason
Honors
August 14, 2006
The usual suspects were unveiled as the Southwestern Athletic
Conference announced its women’s volleyball preseason
honors with repeat selections in several categories. The
honors were voted on by conference head coaches and sports
information directors.
 In the predicted order of finish, Alabama A&M and Grambling
State were picked to win their respective divisions; Mississippi
Valley State’s Ashley Robinson was named Preseason
Player of the Year.
Six-time defending champion Alabama A&M Lady Bulldogs
received 13 first-place votes en route to 89 points. Mississippi
Valley State, who finished with a 26-4 record last season,
was chosen second with five first-place votes as they tallied
80 points. Jackson State (52 pts), Alabama State (38 pts)
and Alcorn State (26 pts) rounded out the Eastern Division.
The Grambling State Lady Tigers – runners-up for
the last three seasons – were selected to win the Western
Division. The Lady Tigers garnered 12 first-place votes as
they tallied 86 points. Prairie View A&M received six
first-place votes en route to 76 points. Southern (54 pts),
Texas Southern (40 pts) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (29 pts)
completed the Western Division voting.
Mississippi Valley State’s Ashley Robinson was named
2006 SWAC Volleyball Preseason Player of the Year. A conference
standout for the past two seasons, the senior outside hitter
finished the 2005 season with 335 kills (4th in the conference),
a .290 hitting percentage (3rd in SWAC), 50 service aces
(5th in SWAC), 212 digs and 53 total blocks. After a stellar
campaign, she was named 2005 SWAC Player of the Year.
In regards to preseason all-conference voting, Mississippi
Valley State had the most players selected with five. Grambling
State, Alabama A&M and Prairie View A&M each had
two players receive preseason accolades. Arkansas-Pine Bluff,
Texas Southern, and Jackson State each were represented with
one player chosen.
2006 SWAC Preseason All-Conference Honors
First Team
| Lacey Cormier, Grambling State # |
OH |
6-3 |
Sr. |
New Orleans, LA |
| Ashley Robinson, Mississippi Valley State # |
OH |
5-10 |
Sr. |
Memphis, TN |
| Shatara Baydak, Mississippi Valley State ^ |
OH |
5-8 |
Jr. |
Shoal Lake, Canada |
| Brittani Lewis, Alabama A&M * ^ |
MB |
6-0 |
So. |
Cedar Hill, TX |
| Falon Holinaty, Mississippi Valley State # |
MB |
5-9 |
Sr. |
Regina Beach, Canada |
| Jolene Brennan, Mississippi Valley State # |
S |
5-9 |
Sr. |
Lumsden, Canada |
| Alyssa Knaus, Mississippi Valley State # |
DS/L |
5-8 |
Jr. |
Lanigan, Canada |
Second Team
| Sharla Cannon, Prairie View A&M |
OH |
5-9 |
So. |
Houston, TX |
| Monique Carroll, Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
OH |
5-8 |
Jr. |
New Boston, TX |
| Dequnda Smith, Texas Southern |
OH |
5-8 |
So. |
Houston, TX |
| Crystal Stigler, Prairie View A&M % ^ |
MB |
5-9 |
Jr. |
Houston, TX |
| Amy Henley, Jackson State |
MB |
5-11 |
So. |
Portland, OR |
| Kara Jerden, Alabama A&M ^ |
S |
5-8 |
So. |
Bloomington, IN |
| Chelsey Lucas, Grambling State |
DS/L |
5-6 |
Sr. |
Houma, LA |
Preseason Player of the Year
| Ashley Robinson, Mississippi Valley State # ! |
OH |
5-10 |
Sr. |
Memphis, TN |
# - denotes 2005 SWAC First-team selection
^ - denotes 2005 SWAC second-team selection
* - denotes 2005 SWAC Freshman of the Year
% - denotes 2005 SWAC Newcomer of the Year
! – denotes 2005 SWAC Player of the Year
Predicted Order of Finish
(first-place votes in parenthesis)
Eastern Division |
|
Western Division |
| Alabama A&M (13) |
89 pts |
Grambling State (12) |
86 pts |
| Mississippi Valley State (5) |
80 |
Prairie View A&M (6) |
76 |
| Jackson State (1) |
52 |
Southern (1) |
54 |
| Alabama State |
38 |
Texas Southern |
40 |
| Alcorn State |
26 |
Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
29 |
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