One of the more enjoyable posts to create from last year
was the 2015 Senior Tributes. Sometimes
I deliberate and edit posts for several hours, especially if there are
statistical arguments in them. I won't
allow you to jack your thoughts up about the level of my nerdiness by revealing
how many hours I spend on the All-Conference pick posts. Let's just say it's close to analysis
paralysis. Swimming in numbers is my
most comfortable domain.
That said, the Senior Tribute post from last year flowed in effortless
fashion. Feverishly typing, I truly
relished every paragraph because it was a complete memory dump. It was so easy to write. So, I committed to making it an annual thing. After the 2015 version of this post went
live, I got some form of response from
over half of the players on the list.
The most recent one was just last month when SFA went to play Incarnate
Word. After the match, I was waiting to
interview our own Corin Evans and Haley Coleman. Evans was out on the floor ready to talk, but
Coleman was still in the locker room (How long does it take this gal to shower,
get dressed and come out of the locker room to get on the bus? Dang.
Eternity).
Anyway, I digress. While waiting for an interview, I heard a
voice behind me: "Mr. Miller?"
Yes, I said, turning around and then without realizing it I audiblized "Viduarri". Before I could pull the word back in my mouth
and properly address her, UIW alum Angelique Vidaurri ask me: "You're the writer for SFA who wrote the
Senior Tribute, aren't you". I
acknowledged that she had it right and then she told me about reading it and
that she wanted to personally thank me for writing it.
Now, I don't write these things for any other reason than
to tell stories. See, it's ME who wants
to thank THEM. I'm the fan. They are the players. THEY have made my life more enjoyable for a
brief period of time by being able to watch them play and in a few cases,
getting to talk with them and in fewer cases still, being able to actually
interact and get to know them a little.
The minute after that face-to-face meeting with Angelique Vidaurri, I
knew I would NEVER quit writing this post as long as I was blogging here. So, here it goes: The 2016 edition of my Senior Tributes. To get us started I'll repeat an excerpt from
last years' explanation:
Below are 10 seniors that
have made an impact on me as a volleyball fan over the past four years. I
track this conference hard. There are many people with more smarts and
talents around this conference, but few that know and study the rosters and
statistics to the depth that I do. Because of this, as a fan - there are
certain players that you come to appreciate even if you only get to see them
play two or three times a year. People tell stories about them: stories
about trying to defend them or strategize against them, stories about their
character or interests. Most of these stories come from coaches, other
players and administrators. My personal observations blend with these
stories to create a true interest in their careers.
The above paragraph from
2015 is still EXACTLY how I feel at this moment, so with that introduction,
here are 10 seniors that made an impact on me as a volleyball fan. There are some others that could be added to
this list, but I'll keep it to 10 and acknowledge all the seniors in a list at
the end of this post. I hope you enjoy
the stories. The players are listed in
alphabetical order by last name.
Kayla Armer (HBU)
Truly one of my favorite
setters in the 11 year history I have with working with SFA Volleyball and the
two decades of watching SLC Volleyball.
Last year, when I made my 2015 All-Conference picks I said that Armer
might make the lists even after she had graduated. That's how strongly I feel about her
talents. She impressed me the VERY FIRST
TIME I watched her play. No growing into
appreciating her. It was an instant
realization of how amazing she was at delivering the ball, reading blockers,
footwork, incorporating everyone on the floor, court presence, leadership. It all was just.. OBVIOUS. Sometimes, it's hard to judge setters. But you watch Armer, and you're like: "Yeah, she's great. I see it." During last season, HBU head coach Trent
Herman helped me set up an interview with Armer and teammate Jessica Wooten. I'm basically never nervous when doing TV,
radio or interviews. I don't have any
anxiety about being on ESPN3 or any of that.
Some people are just wired differently. I don't get nervous. But, I was SO nervous to interview
Armer. HBU has a great offense and it is
primarily due to the quarterback. This
one I am really going to miss seeing play.
By the way, just so you know: She
led the NATION in total assists. She was
the only setter in our conference to average 10+ assists per set. She was the
only setter in our conference e to do ALL of the following: get a kill per set,
dig 2.5 balls per set, hit over .250 and block half a ball per set while
garnering a player of the week award.
And, she wasn't the Setter of the Year.
Yeah, Ok. That makes sense
(insert sarcasm here).
Landry Bullock
(Southeastern Louisiana)
Three (probably to be
Four) time All-SLC Commissioner's Honor Roll, 2015 Honorable Mention All-SLC,
2016 Preseason All-SLC, several all-tournament teams and a slew of other awards. All this and you probably still don't know
her. A shame. For years, teams that have not done well in
the standings have been shunned when it comes time to hand out individual
awards. For eight years in this blog, I
have been rebelling against such nonsense, but the methods by which the SLC
makes All-Conference picks is so tangled, so unnecessarily full of limitations
and so much a standings popularity contest that players like Bullock (and Lexi
Mercier from ACU who is on this list, too) get overlooked. Bullock was hurt for part of this year, but
it didn't stop her from making one of the most remarkable plays I saw all season: When SLU came to Nacogdoches, we had one of
the craziest matches I've ever called. The Lions got docked two points for an
illegal substitution that set off a 22-minute delay. After play resumed, Bullock comes in
basically hobbling on one foot because of her leg brace. Justice Walker runs a slide and Bullock
blocks it solo straight down inside the 10-foot line. Humphreys calls timeout and as Bullock is
basically waddling back to the sideline, SLU Head Coach Jim Smoot says
"That was one of the most incredible plays I've ever seen!". He took the words right out of my mouth. It was the monstrous block against our best
player. I'm trying not to respond to it
given I am at the media table, but I couldn't help it. It was just an awesome individual play. Another great memory of Bullock was the
INCREDIBLE effort she put out in last years' loss to Corpus Christi in the
conference tournament. She had over half
of her team's kills in a dominating performance. HALF HER TEAM'S Kills. She's from Spring, TX. I was raised there, so maybe I was destined
to like her.
Morgan Carlson (Texas
A&M Corpus Christi)
A late bloomer. But man, when her stock hit if you weren't
invested, then you missed quite a ride.
She only played in 33 sets during her first two years on the island. After about 1/3 of the 2015 season had gone
by, I was like "Morgan Carlson?
Wait. She's been on the team for
a while, right? How is she good all the
sudden?" I seriously doubted. I kept saying to myself that she hadn't been
a factor her first two years, so the bubble was probably going to burst and she
was going to lose playing time and all that jazz. Uh, wrong.
Uh, very, very, very wrong. She
keeps putting up numbers, generating buzz, people asking me about her and I'm telling
them: "I don't know? All the sudden she's awesome. I don't know anything about her". So, AMCC comes to Nacogdoches and I'm all
pumped to see the girl they call "Carl". So naturally, what happens? Baresh gets 16 kills and 25 digs (of course),
Gilpin: 15 kills, Nicholson: 62 freaking assists and a double-double, Madeline
Doud doesn't make a single error and Kate The Great scoops up 35261 balls or
something like that. "Carl? Hello, Carl.. table for one?... Yes, well,
here's a nice .088 hitting percentage on an underwhelming 8 kills in five sets
we have on the menu for you tonight."
So, I go all year not figuring this one out. How is this happening? But then, the conference tournament hits. I get starting talking with Jacob Bell ( a
super great dude BTW) who is the Sports Info Guy at AMCC. Carlson is all he can talk about. I mean, he is GUSHING about Carlson. Then, the games start and Carlson leads the
Islanders in kills in Match 1, Blocks 7 balls in Match 2 and gets named to the
All-Tournament Team easily. Sometimes,
they bloom late. Sometimes it takes a
while for a fan to appreciate the changes.
Sometimes people impress you for four years. Sometimes, they impress you in a period of
just a few days like what happened to me at last year's tourney. Don't worry.
I'm ready for her repeat performance at this years' event. I'm on board.
Shannon Connell (SFA)
Oh, there's no way I
leave Shannon off here. No freaking
way. You see, you WISH you had the total
package of athlete and person that Shannon Connell has. Her teammates LOVE her. They LOVE her. She's had a rough year. What she went through was not easy. Getting to your senior year and having to
accept that you are going to sit in favor of a freshman had to be hard to
do. Hey, have you seen that Tony Romo
video that has been circulating recently where he says that Dak Prescott
deserves to be the Cowboys QB and all that?
Pure class. Connell certainly
would love to be playing, and it probably wouldn't be easy, but I could totally
see Shannon giving some version of that speech.
I have been super impressed - and not just this year - with how she has
handled her role. It is no secret that setting
at SFA is a tough assignment. Setting for
any team is tough, but I think it's tougher at SFA. We are really demanding on our setters here,
so there were plenty of opportunities for Shannon to show some chinks in the
armor. You know, pull one of those rants
where you pretend nobody sees yet you really WANT everyone to see. That would have been me. No, Shannon's too classy for that. I'm sure
she got pissed off at times and her closest friends saw it. But, true colors come out in situations like
what Shannon has had to accept. That
said, Shannon HAS had her court moments.
She got squeezed between 2014 Setter of the Year Paige Holland and 2016
Freshman of the Year Ann Hollas, but Shannon did a darn fine job with us during
her junior season when she ran the show.
Just under 1000 assists and fourth in the league in assists per
set. But in the end, what I'll remember
along with her great 2015 season is her personality. Magnetic.
I wish I had the ability to gather people the way Shannon does. Her teammates... they LOVE her. Isn't that the ultimate respect?
Kaci Eaton (Nicholls)
Here we go again. Two time honoree by Louisiana Sportswriters
Association, Honorable Mention All-SLC
in 2015, all-academic teams and that amazing 2014 season where she was Newcomer
of the Year in a landslide. She was
Nicholls main go-to and could score at will.
She killed 448 balls that season (448!!!!) and was third in the nation
in attacks per set. 2014 was a weird
year for Nicholls volleyball. They had a
libero named Kaylnn Egea who was in the national leaders in digs per set all
year. I put her on my 2nd team because I
thought OJ Olson deserved the libero of the year. Olson was key to our 16-0 regular SLC
season. The conference voters - again
because the system is bat crap crazy - basically ignore Egea and I begin using
hashtag #FreeEgea on twitter. It was awesome sauce. At least Eaton got the recognition she
deserved. Plus, it's not like we are
living in the past here. Eaton was 2nd on
her team THIS year in kills and 3rd in digs.
She got hurt in 2015 and that derailed what look like was going to be an
awesome follow-up to her burst onto the Southland scene the year before. I never met Eaton. Nicholls has only won 15 Southland matches
over the last four years. AMCC won 16 in
two years' straight. So, Eaton really
never got any of the spotlight and I never actually crossed paths with her. This is more of an appreciation from afar for
this senior. She's the classic example
of a really good player that more people would know about if she were on
successful teams. She's the kind of player
I always wished we had at SFA: big (she's 6-2) six-rotation left side scoring
machine.
Chelsea Grant (Lamar)
Oh my gosh. Intimidating.
What an AMAZING athlete. She put
up some ridiculous numbers during her time in Beaumont. Some players on this list are really good
players that never got notoriety because they played on poor teams. Well, Lamar only won 19 Southland conference
matches and never appeared in the postseason tournament during Grant's four
years. But, Grant smashed right through
all that. Everyone knew who she
was. She was THAT good. She is the only senior on this list that I
picked to be on my top two All-SLC teams for all four years they played. I picked her on my 2nd team in 2013 and she's
been on my first team ever since (2014, 2015 and 2016). She was the 5th leading vote getter in the
All-SLC selections this year, and I had her ranked 4th overall (behind Walker,
Gilpin and Banks). She is a completely
dominating player. Every single coach in
this conference would AUTOMATICALLY say yes if offered the chance to have her
in the starting lineup. She could have
started at any school in the conference at any time during her four years
playing for Lamar. There are very few
people that you'd even entertain making such a statement about but I genuinely
believe it is true. A middle blocker for
her first three years, coach Alan Edwards shifted her over to the pin this
year. Money. Still cash money. Could very well deserve the title of the most
dynamic player in the league over the last four years not named Heather
Schnars. She TWICE had 28 kills this
year and against Sam Houston last year she had 17 blocks. How is that even possible? 17 blocks!!
Just let it sink in that we are talking about a first-team
All-Conference middle blocker in 2015 who just lead the league in kills per set
as an outsider hitter in 2016. Plus, she
had over 4 kills per set in conference matches - the only player in the
Southland to do that. There are too many
memories of her dominance to count.
Despite how awesome she is, I STILL think the conference as a whole underrated her early in her
career. One of the great ones, for
sure.
Michelle Griffith (Sam
Houston State)
Ok, I've been nice all
season. Really, I have. I haven't totally flipped out at any point
and used this writing space to just get on a soapbox like I usually do once or
twice a year. We've been a calmer,
gentler blog over the last year or so.
But not now. I'm sorry. I'm gonna stick up for Michelle
Griffith. I will not name names, but she
has been disrespected to my face many times by people around the league. I have been told that I should take her off
my lists by people around the league. I
am NOT talking about SFA folks here, I am talking about other people around the
league. Well, here's my blatant response:
It's my blog and I'll pick who I damn please.
I know Sam Houston runs a crazy offense. I know only THEY think it's normal and
nobody else does. I know people think
this and that about her technique, but I'm just gonna leave this right
here: NO ONE IN THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
HAS MORE ASSISTS PER SET OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS COMBINED THAN MICHELLE
GRIFFITH. You can give me your
reasons. You can tell me why that
doesn't mean much. You can explain it
away. I'm sick of it. At some point, numbers are numbers are
numbers. Giving me first pick of setters
right now? Sure, I am taking Armer and
Nicholson, but hey man.. stop the hate.
Appreciate. Michelle, I hope you kick butt and take names at the
conference tournament. Except when you
play us in the 2nd round. J
Natalie Jaeger
(Northwestern State)
The only person in the
history of the universe to go from Oconomowoc, Wisconsin to Natchitoches,
Louisiana. I had to check that last
sentence 14 times to make sure I spelled everything right. She'll graduate (she's super smart by the
way) and probably go get a job in Reykjavik, Iceland or somewhere. I'll always remember Jaeger as a great server
- she was 12th in the nation in aces last year.
For a lot of her time at NSU, she was part of a two-setter scheme, but
when Sean Kiracofe took over the program, Jaeger became the primary single
setter for a large portion of the last two years. Jaeger occasionally does this little thing
where she will kick her feet out away from her body when she jumps to set. It's like she's turning on the jets to her
5-9 frame to get a rocket boost right before she dishes the ball to an
attacker. Go to the NSU website and look
up her bio and wait for the pictures to rotate on her page.. they got a good
shot of her doing it in one of the photos.
There is no way that's an accident.
Someone noticed it and waited for just the right moment to shoot the
shot. I think I wanted to honor her play
here because she was one of the younger, yet integral players on those awesome
2013 and 2014 Demon teams. Everyone
talked about the stars like DiFrancesco, Neely and O'Connell, but Jaeger was a
big part too. Her and EJ running the
6-2. There aren't that many setters that
stay a "starter" consistently for all four years they are on
campus. Quietly, Jaeger accomplished
that. I didn't have her on my lists..
but I thought it was cool that she made Honorable Mention All-SLC in a year
that she was a primary setter. Despite
that well-deserved honor, she's in this post for her unsung role during her
first two years at NSU. She rightfully
deserves her place among the great roll call of Demon players that resurrected
NSU from the Southland Volleyball's version of Hades.
Lexi Mercier (ACU)
I thought about using
Mercier's paragraph as my one in 10 to bust a gasket. But since I did that in Griffith's spot, I'll
stay civil here. Mercier led the league
in blocks per set as a freshman. For
that, she got basically no recognition from the league. She finished in the top 8 in blocks per set all
four years as a Wildcat. No player has more total blocks over the last four
years than Mercier. See, why don't
people know this stuff? Do they not
care? I don't get it. I mean, she's a middle blocker and nobody
blocked more balls than her in the last four years. Did you know Mercier is 15th in the nation in
active career blocks? See, now you
know. Can we just recognize that for the
simplicity that it is? Mercier is the
most underrated player in this Senior Tribute and earlier in the week I made
the promise to not forget the ACU Wildcats and UIW Cardinals that paved the way
for their teams to play in the postseason.
(Looks for Bible to place hand on.. found it on computer table next to
me). Repeat after me: "I do so solemnly swear that when ACU
plays in the Conference Tourney in 2017 that Lexi Mercier will be acknowledged
in all ACU broadcasts". Whew. I feel better now. Every time I watched ACU play, she was the
first player I followed on the court.
Four straight seasons of over 100 blocks. Consistency, man. Not consistently kinda good.. that's 100
rejections a year good. There are some
players that as a fan you just latch onto early in their careers and always
look for their names in box scores or focus on when your team plays theirs.
That's Mercier for me. She always had my
attention so she had to be in these spaces as a senior. I've raved for two
years about Blair Gillard at HBU, but Mercier could have very easily been my
always-have-to-talk-about-because-you-think-she-is-more-awesome-than-everyone-else-does
player. I always have one or two of those.
Wow. Last year, Jennifer Loerch
and now Lexi Mercier. They went 11-5 in
league play. Someone, please start
paying attention to ACU Volleyball.
Please? See, I said it nice and
didn't bust a gasket.
Justice Walker (SFA)
Hey, I know its
alphabetical, but we saved the best for last, didn't we? I can hardly believe how good Walker has
become in her last couple of years as SFA.
Jacque Allen was a dominant middle blocker, but you could see Justice
emerging from her shadow last year.
Walker has 437 career blocks and led the Southland in both attack
percentage and blocks per set this year.
She just posted the 2nd highest block per set rate (1.32) in SFA
Volleyball history (Traci Rohde, 2006, 1.37).
She was clearly the best middle blocker in the league and had a Player
of the Year worthy campaign in 2016. One
of my favorite Justice Walker stories is from our 2014 year that was so
special. We had a tournament over at
Louisiana Tech and after a match, I went down into the tunnel to find the SFA
locker room. This is a team that had
Allen, Ivy, Holland, Olson, etc, and all those players were used to doing
interviews with me. They were the stars
and I'd get their comments a lot.
Justice walked out of the locker room and I ask her if I could talk to
her for a minute about the great match she had just played (11 kills, no
errors, .500 vs. UTPA). Jill Ivy had 21
kills in this same match and had just given me this awesome set of comments in
an interview. Jill was a pro at these
things. Justice looks straight at me and
says "You want to talk to me? On
that thing? [Pointing at my recorder].
I'm not good at talking in interviews!". She did fine, but I didn't ask her for
comments much after that because I didn't want to make her uncomfortable. She is so different now. I've interviewed her a few times this year
and she has completely grown into the star that she is. I wish a lot of the players on this list had
received more praise.. and so, I am rallying around them. Justice is different. Justice Walker is a name everyone in this
conference knows. Justice is a three
time first-team all conference player.
The thing I think most about when it comes to her is how proud I am of
her accomplishments. She makes me proud
that I cover SFA Volleyball. I mean
that in the most sincere way possible.
Just a joy to watch play for four years.
Huge, huge shoes to fill next year for sure!!
Five other Seniors that
stick out to me as I think back over the years....
Dorothy Swanson
(ACU): great ball control, could pretty
much play anywhere on the court. Always
the fan of using passing sleeves.
Bridget Justis (McNeese):
only been in the league two years, but stabilized the Cowgirl back row in a
hurry. Feisty! Love, love, love the 5'4" back row
players. #BackRow.
Kali Schwartz
(Nicholls): A great right-side
attack. Blistered us when Nicholls came
to Nacogdoches. Always someone you had to be aware of.
Claire Kilpatrick (Sam
Houston State): Good player to bring up
in conversations. Always got a full
range of opinions. Some people would give
praise, others were dismissive. Played
good in Huntsville vs. us this year.
Breanna Homer (Sam
Houston State): Another player than you
could stick just about anywhere. A
multi-sport star. All-conference at third
base in softball.
Congrats and
thank you to all of the 15 seniors above as well as these that round out this
year's class:
UCA: Rachel
Sharp
HBU: Melissa
Fuchs and Ashlee Vann
UIW: Claudia Hernandez and Shaina Garza
Lamar:
Nicole Parrish, Ashley Ellis and Lauren Stahlman
McNeese:
Hailee Showers and Rebecca Korenek
UNO: Keke
Richards and Takierra Boughton
Nicholls:
Lucija Barac
Northwestern State: Bailey Martin and Lauren Agan
Sam Houston State: Shelby Genung
Southeastern
Louisiana: Parrie Hartley, Rachel Bunn
and Madi Odom