October 5, 2009

Shepard, Hampson Named Players of the Week

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Emporia State's Arica Shepard and Washburn's Kate Hampson have been named MIAA Volleyball Student-Athletes of the Week for the week of Sept. 30-Oct. 3 as selected by a conference SID panel. The award is Shepard's third MIAA weekly honor of the season, while Hampson is a first time winner this year.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL HITTER OF THE WEEK
Arica Shepard, OH, Emporia State
Shepard had 63 kills and 50 digs on the weekend, averaging 4.50 kills per set while hitting .421 and recording 12 blocks averaging 0.86 per set. The senior from Rossville, Kan., averaged a double-double with 15.75 kills per match and 12.50 digs per match. Shepard had double-doubles in three of her four matches and had a streak of 11 straight going at one time. She led the Lady Blues fall classic in kills per set by .087 kills. Shepard averaged 5.18 points per set, scoring 72.5 for the weekend. She was named to the Lady Blues Falls Classic All-Tournament Team. Against No. 6 West Texas A&M, Shepard had a double-double with 21 kills and 17 digs while hitting .381 for the match. She had three kills and three blocks in the first set. Against Angelo State, she had 20 kills to go along with 15 digs for her 10th straight double-double while hitting .436 with three blocks. Shepard had eight kills in the first set for ESU. She had six kills in both the second and third sets. Against SW Oklahoma St., she pushed her double-double streak to 11 matches with 11 kills and 13 digs while hitting .611 for the match. Shepard served for five straight points including a service ace to help ESU open up a 6-0 lead in set number two. Against SE Oklahoma St. she had 11 kills and added five digs.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL SPECIALIST OF THE WEEK
Kate Hampson, S, Washburn
Hampson was named to the Lady Blues Classic all-tournament team after leading the Lady Blues to a 4-0 record, including a win over No. 6 West Texas A&M. The senior from Fort Collins, Colo., recorded 52 assists against Southeastern Oklahoma while recording four kills and 12 digs. Against No. 6 West Texas A&M, Hampson had 51 assists with three kills and nine digs. Against Tarleton State, she recorded 28 assists with nine digs and five kills and against Angelo State, she had 34 assists, three kills and five digs. For the weekend, Hampson averaged 41.25 assists per match and 11.8 assists per set. She moved into 10th place on the MIAA career assist list. Hampson now has 5,184 career assists.