Southern picked to win SWAC volleyball title, Alabama A&M favorite in Eastern Division

BIRMINGHAM - The Lady Jaguars of Southern University have been picked bythe coaches to be the 2000 Southwestern Athletic Conference volleyballchampions.

SU finished the 1999 season third in the Western Division with an overallrecord of 17-20 and a SWAC record of 4-4. They lost to Prairie View A&M inthe championship game, 15-6, 3-15, 5-15, 8-15, in the first match and 6-15,15-5, 6-15, 10-15 in the second championship match.

"I feel that Southern will have the best team because of its experience,"said Grambling State head coach Frederick Payne. "They will be the team tobeat."

The Lady Jaguars will have go for the gold without 1999 All-SWAC teammember Chivonne Fair, who's graduated. Fair led Southern in hittingpercentage (.281, 5th in the SWAC) and she was third in the conference inblocks, averaging 1.53 per game.

"We are still very young, yet we will be very competitive," Southern headcoach Nathaniel Denu said. "We will have to depend on what is given to us."

Southern picked up three first place votes and 17 points overall in theSWAC Western Division rankings. The Lady Jaguars were followed by GramblingState, which received 16 points and one first place nod. Defending overallchampion Prairie View A&M garnered one first place vote and 13 points, TexasSouthern eight points and Arkansas-Pine Bluff four points.

Despite receiving only a third place divisional ranking, Alicia Pete,Prairie View A&M's head coach, said she's optimistic about her team's chancesfor a repeat performance of a year ago.

"I feel that we will fare well in the SWAC this season," said Pete."Prairie View will have a chance at winning the Western Division as well asthe conference championship."

In the Eastern Division, the Lady Bulldogs of Alabama A&M are thefavorites to win their division. AAMU received 20 points in the coaches'poll and all four first place votes with rival Alabama State receiving onefirst place vote and 15 points. Rounding out the Eastern Division rankingswere Alcorn State, 13 points, Mississippi Valley State, nine, and JacksonState, four.

AAMU had an impressive showing last year, finishing the season with a25-8 overall record and a 7-0 SWAC record. As a team, Alabama A&M led theSWAC in hitting percentage (.281), digs (15.46 pg.), kills (13.54 pg.) andservice aces (2.19 pg.).

"That team (Alabama A&M) has the talent and the majority of its teamreturning," said Alcorn State head coach Nate Kilbert. "Alabama A&M has theheight advantage and they were ranked in the top three in almost all of theconference's individual and team stats."

After losing 1999 All-SWAC team members Shawn Medlock, Talea Orr andShannon Perkins, the Lady Bulldogs are optimistic about the new millennium.

"This year's team should be strong, because they are looking to eachother for strength and guidance," AAMU head coach Betty Austin said. "In thepast, there has been one primary player who has led the team, and in a sense,carried them. This season the girls believe each position is evenlydistributed with regards to talent and that no one person can win a game.The whole team has to."

The 2000 SWAC volleyball tournament will be held November 11-13 at theUniversity of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

1. Alabama A&M (4).................................... 20 pts.2. Alabama State (1).................................. 153. Alcorn State....................................... 134. Mississippi Valley State...........................  95. Jackson State......................................  4                (first place votes in parentheses)

1. Southern (3).......................................... 17 pts.2. Grambling State (1)................................... 163. Prairie View A&M (1).................................. 134. Texas Southern........................................  95. Arkansas-Pine Bluff...................................  4                 (first place votes in parentheses)

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