Monday, August 31, 2009

MACON, Ga. – On Monday, the Atlantic Sun Conference announced its first weekly volleyball award of the 2009 campaign with Ashley Weers of Campbell named the Player of the Week.

Weers, the senior middle blocker from Littleton, Colo., led the Camels to a perfect 4-0 record in the NC State Hilton RTP Classic, downing Davidson, Morgan State and Charleston Southern and the host NC State. Weers tallied double-digit points in all but one match in Raleigh, totaling 47 for the four-match tournament. The sport management major posted 39 kills and 12 total blocks on the weekend. In Campbell’s 3-0 win against NC State, she collected 11 kills and five blocks while hitting .500, in the program’s first sweep of a major-conference opponent. The run by the Camels also marked only the fourth time in program history, and first time since 1997, that the Camels have swept through a tournament.

Weers hit .391 on the tournament, committing only five attack errors on 87 chances. She smashed 13 scores on 27 errorless attempts in Campbell’s 3-2 win versus Charleston Southern to clinch the tourney sweep. The senior middle also moved up on Campbell’s all-time block assists list, jumping Abby Jenkins (160, 1998-2001) and Stacia Hall (161, 1994-97) to number eight with 169 denials. Weers could rank as high as sixth on the list by week’s end, with former A-Sun All-Conference middles Tabitha Turner (172, 2003-06) and Femi Alabi (173, 2005-07) also within reach. The Camels featured a pair of teammates to the NC State Hilton RTP Classic All-Tournament Team in Weers and fellow middle, junior Caitlin Bendy.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and 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
Alex Kelly - Lipscomb (Jr. - MH - Kansas City, Mo. - Marketing) – Kelly earned a spot on the UT Lady Vol Classic All Tournament after the Lady Bisons swept Western Kentucky and Tennessee Tech, before losing a close match to host Tennessee. Kelly finished with a match high 16 kills, added 10 digs against UT and notched a match high 15 kills, tying for a team high 13 digs against Western Kentucky. In the A-Sun Match of the Week against Tennessee Tech, Kelly made 11 kills and added a match 12 digs.

Asjia Stokes – Kennesaw State (Sr. - OH - North Chicago, Ill. - Accounting) – Stokes earned all-tournament honors at the Staybridge Suites Rocket Classic. Stokes tallied double-digit kills in each of the three matches, leading the Owls with 2.85 kills per set, topping out with a team-high 24 in a win against Marist. Stokes collected eight total blocks over the three matches, notching five in the Marist victory.

Megan Clements - Belmont (Jr. - L - Indianapolis - Nursing) – Clements made the Louisville All-Invitational Team after leading the Belmont defense by recording a total of 56 digs (3.73 digs per set) and setting the tone for the team's gradual improvement throughout the weekend. Clements added a total of nine aces, while tying a career high with four against Pittsburgh and recorded 23 digs against Louisville to register her sixth career-match with 20 or more digs.

Kaley Read - UNF (Jr. - MB - Tampa, Fla. - Nutrition) – Read averaged 4.12 kills per set over the weekend, with 1.69 digs and eight aces.