Monday, October 27, 2008

MACON, Ga. - FGCU is in position to claim its second-consecutive Atlantic Sun Regular Season title, thanks in large part to the leadership of senior Roberta Santos. The setter tallied her first two career triple-doubles in the past week, as her Eagles extended their winning streak to eight consecutive matches. On Monday, the conference office awarded her a third career Player of the Week honor.

The senior led FGCU to three straight road wins with a pair of triple-doubles. Santos began the week against UCF with a season-high 14 kills while hitting .500, with 44 assists and 10 digs for her first career triple double. Against ETSU, Santos picked up eight kills and hit .412 to go with 26 assists and seven digs. The Brazil native ended the week with her second triple-double, putting down 12 kills, notching 41 assists and 12 digs. She added four blocks and three aces in the match.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers
Whitney Cogburn, ETSU (So. – S – Kingsport, Tenn. – Education) – Had a triple-double in the win over Stetson Saturday as she had13 kills, 18 assists and 15 digs.

Jake Pease, Lipscomb (So. – S –Berryton, Kan. – Fashion Merchandising) – In two matches, 3-1 win over Jacksonville Friday and a 3-0 win over UNF Saturday Pease made seven kills, 81 assists, 23 digs and two services aces, .142 hitting percentage

Asjia Stokes, Kennesaw State (Jr. – OH/RS – North Chicago, Ill. – Accounting) –Had 16 kills and only two errors in 23 attempts, leading KSU to a 3-0 sweep of Campbell in the Owls' only match of the week. Her .609 attack percentage in the match marked the highest attack percentage in the A-Sun this year with a minimum of 12 kills.

A-Sun Weekly Notes
Dig For The Cure: The USC Upstate volleyball team held its first “Dig For The Cure” match on Friday, Oct. 24 against Stetson. The match raised more than $700, with money still coming in, for the Upstate chapter of Komen For The Cure, an organization that is committed to the fight against breast cancer. The Spartans are one of more than 400 college, high school and club volleyball teams across the nation that will sponsor a Dig For The Cure match this year. The initiative, started by former Charlotte head coach Lisa Marston, has raised nearly $400,000 in support of breast cancer in its five years of existence.

Even with two losses over the weekend, JU earned a spot in the A-Sun Tournament with a loss by Stetson…against Belmont, senior outside hitter Sara Bendorf led the Dolphins with 15 kills and a .286 (15-5-35) hitting percentage…junior outside hitter Brooke Singleton added six kills and 14 digs while junior libero Shelley Walroth led the defense with 20 digs…against Lipscomb, sophomore outside hitter Aidan Yeager led the Dolphins with 13 kills and a .355 (13-2-31) hitting percentage…sophomore middle blocker Abby Gruenbacher added 11 kills and a match-high six blocks…Bendorf chipped in with nine kills, 16 digs and two blocks while sophomore middle blocker Brittany Lehman added six kills and a .417 (6-1-12) hitting percentage…Walroth led the defense with a match-high 23 digs.

Campbell sophomore outside hitter Emily Werner posted 24.0 points for the Camels in a pair of losses, averaging 3.67 kills and 2.00 digs per contest. The Sarasota, Fla. native also grabbed four block assists. Werner has led the Camels in kills on 16 occasions, reaching double digits nine times. The Camels added 12 blocks to their season totals last weekend, claiming seven against Kennesaw State and five over Mercer. Campbell has tallied at least five blocks in 15 contests this season, and has posted 149 total to date.