We have been quite busy this spring with training, fundraising, recruiting, scheduling and all the normality and craziness that is involved in any sports program, so we apologize for the delay in blog posts, as we always want to keep the fans involved!
Here's a recap of what we have been up to lately:
Spring Competitions - we played two home tournament/single match events in March, playing local junior colleges from around the area. We were a little sluggish in the first four-team tournament, splitting with Lee, Blinn and San Jac, while beating Paris 2-0. When Blinn came up to Huntsville on March 31, we ended up losing in five sets, 12-15 in the fifth, they are quite the squad with great athletes going to some top 25 programs, but we should have found a way to win. Playing with some people out of position and players recovering from injury this spring isn't an excuse, we need to execute.
We played at the University of Houston on April 7, and won in a sloppy, but needed 3-1 match. We improved from our previous dates of competition, and saw some good things out of our new kids. Overall, we still needed to cut down on the errors. We finished our fourth date of competition on April 10th at Texas A&M in their practice court, which was about the same size as Lamar's regular playing gym, but very nice. We ended up taking one set from them, but could have won two more, losing 1-4. It was good to see where we stack up against the Aggies, considering they made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year -- we can play with any team that we want to -- but must find a way to really 'dial in' and focus when we are in the last 5-7 points of a set and find a way to victory. That being said, it was an overall good day for the team.
We are finishing up with individual practices this week to end our spring.
Fundraisers - We always have various fundraisers throughout the year to help the program raise money. We sold roses on Valentine's day, and sold out in just our pre-order sales. It was the first time in the 7 year history, pretty impressive! Two weekends ago, our third annual golf tournament was another record setting success, and you can read a more detailed recap on the official site, but we had 13 teams of four golfers, more than 50 hole sponsors, and raised more money for the program than the past two years!
Recruiting - we signed two great young ladies when the spring signing period started on April 14th, Lakeshia Craft, a 6'0" Middle Blocker junior transfer from Blinn (Junior) College, and Tarona Williams, a 5'11" Middle Blocker senior from Hightower HS (just southwest of Houston). Lakeshia we have targeted for awhile, and has been committed for a few months, will help us tremendously in the middle right away, gaining valuable experience playing for the 2008 NJCAA National Champions. Tarona was a late find for us, but what a gem she will be in the classroom and on the court - she has a high ceiling, and we can't wait to get her in the gym and training with us! Both of these young ladies will enroll for the summer II session in July to take a class and be able to work out with our strength and conditioning coach to get ready for the fall.
Last night we had the SHSU All Sports banquet which awards all sports, coaches, trainers, managers and the staff associated with everything that we all do. Our team had many honors, including our team MVP, Senior Middle Blocker Anna Ferguson. Outside Hitter Carli Kolbe was named the SH Award winner, which goes to the top sophomore female athlete in the entire athletic program. Anna Ferguson was also named the top female student athlete of the SHSU athletic program. She spoke well, and it was a great night for our volleyball program!
Hope y'all are doing well, and glad you are reading!!
-- Joe Lind
Assistant volleyball coach
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