Players of the Week, Hudson, Calverley

SAGU Volleyball Players Cited by the RRAC

WACO, Texas -- The Red River Athletic Conference announced on Sunday that Southwestern Assemblies of God University's Caitlyn Hudson was its Player of the Week as well as the RRAC Hitter of the Week in a vote of the league's volleyball coaches.

Darin David, the Sports Information Director of the Red River, made public the weekly recognition from the league offices in Waco. The official press release is published at www.redriverconference.com.

Also named was SAGU's Taylor Calverley as the Setter of the Week.

About Caitlyn Hudson

Hudson, an outside hitter, has been as hot as a scorpion's tail in recent weeks. A foot injury that required an immobilizing cast in August had slowed her in the opening weeks of the season. Fully recovered, the 5-foot-10 sophomore started finding her rhythm two weeks ago against Dallas Christian College. She nailed 10 of 12 swings for points, good for a blazing .833 hitting percentage.

This past week she racked up a combined .482 hitting percentage as the Lady Lions won twice during their current four-game winning streak. She made a personal best, 19 kills as well as 24 digs to spark SAGU's 3-2 victory over Saint Thomas on Friday night. The player known for her 100-watt smile then added 11 kills as Southwestern swept Huston-Tillotson, 3-0, on Saturday morning. St. Thomas had an 11-3 record entering Friday.

In total, she committed only three hitting errors in 56 attacks, of which 30 where whacked for points. The double selection as Hitter of the Week and the RRAC's overall Player of the Week is especially sweet and not often accomplished.

"She has really begun play well," said Head Coach Hansford Moore, who had remained in her corner during her inconsistent play over the previous month. Her confidence and health are now back to normal. "She has reached double figures in kills three times in the past four matches," he added. "When she plays like this, we can compete against most anyone."

Hudson enjoyed a very good career at Mansfield's Legacy High School prior to enrolling at SAGU.

About Taylor Calverley

Another Mansfield resident is Calverley, a 5'10 freshman from Arlington's Grace Prep. The RRAC's top setter this past week bagged 82 assists in eight games, often teaming-up with Hudson and others for spikes.

Her 53 assists against St. Thomas were a personal record. She had 16 digs in that match as well as six kills vs. the UST Celts. In dispatching Tillotson, she made 29 assists.

Calverley has overcome two injuries this season that forced her to miss 10 games. She also averaged over 10 assists per set a week ago, the highest in the RRAC, but was not chosen for Setter honors. Over the past two weeks, Calverley has 148 assists in 14 games, keying a 4-0 run by the Lady Lions.

Coach Moore praised her performance. "She continues to get better. And she has the drive to sharpen her game," he said. "We are happy to have her at Southwestern. And as Taylor performs, she raises the game of everyone around her."

SAGU almost swept the RRAC's four awards. Greger Gotay-Quinones, from the University of Texas at Brownsville, was named Libero of the Week. Lady Lions' senior Jordan Briggs (Maypearl, Tx / Maypearl HS) was nominated for the award.

Tuesday: Southwestern vs. the University of Dallas (13-1)

The Lady Lions return to action at 7:00pm on Tuesday night, September 28, with a headline match against the University of Dallas. The Crusaders are currently 13-1 and ranked in the Top Ten in the nation in the NCAA's Division III.

SAGU swept them twice in 2009 in a season in which the U-of-D qualified for their first berth in the NCAA D-3 tournament.

Team Rankings

The RRAC coaches also conduct a poll to rank the teams. While wins and losses within the conference will ultimately decide the standings, in the early goings the ranking evaluates strength of schedule, tournament success, etc.

The University of Texas at Brownsville, who are the defending champions, are currently rated #1. The Scorpions are 14-0 overall and 5-0 in the Red River. Coincidentally, UTB is the conference's largest school with over 18,000 enrolled at Texas' Southernmost School. Texas Wesleyan University, who are in fourth in the standings at 10-11 and 3-2, are rated the second best team by the coaches.

UTB went 34-3 last fall, and swept the field in conference play (16-0). In fact, they didn't lose a single set while going 48-0 during RRAC action. The TWU Lady Rams took fifth (16-17, 10-6).

Southwestern Assemblies (8-8, 2-1) are #3, with Our Lady of the Lake University (6-1, 4-1) viewed as fourth. OLLU's record says otherwise, as their 4-1 league mark lists them in second. A year ago the Lady Saints were 16-13 overall and 10-6 in the RRAC.

Wiley College comes in fifth (9-6, 2-2). The Wildcats were second in 2009 with a 21-5 ledger in all matches, while going 14-2 against the league.

The final three teams are #6 Bacone College (2-15, 0-3), #7 Texas College (3-12, 1-3) and #8 Huston-Tillotson (0-13, 0-6).