17 Netters Open Camp

Waxahachie, Texas  --  Building on the strength of six straight winning campaigns, head coach Hansford Moore is hopeful  this year’s women’s volleyball team will reload instead of rebuild.

Southwestern Assemblies of God University has become one of the Red River Athletic Conference’s powers in recent seasons. In fact, with Coach Moore entering his eleventh season by averaging over twenty wins per season, the Lady Lions are annual contenders.

While the University of Texas at Brownsville and Wiley College have twice taken the crown in the past four years, Southwestern, Texas Wesleyan and Our Lady of the Lake University have brought the heat. Adding Houston’s University of St. Thomas this fall should only make for highly competitive volleyball among the league’s elite.

If Coach Moore seems to be having more fun as he seeks to assemble the team’s most effective rotation, it is likely because this year’s group could be his deepest ever. It’s enough to breed hope for another successful team.

“We will be bringing in 17 players,” the veteran coach confirmed. “and look to add one more in a few weeks. This is the largest group I have ever worked with.”

“Adding some very good players helps us,” Moore continued.  “Four that were not on last year’s squad will compete for starting positions.”

A core of returning performers includes: Krystal Cisneros (El Paso, Tx / Del Valle, Tx) came into her own last fall in both kills and blocks. Caitlyn Hudson (Mansfield, Tx / Legacy HS) is due for an autumn breakout as an attacker and is one of the team’s best servers. Tina Brown (Seguin, Tx / Lifegate HS) is a solid leader and is known for her fearless play at the net.

Sophomore setter Taylor Calverley (Mansfield, Tx / Grace Prep) averaged over nine assists per match, distributing the ball all across the frontline.

Amanda Laney (New Braunfels, Tx / New Braunfels Christian) returns to SAGU after hitting .265 as a freshman two seasons ago. Kassy Cox (Lufkin, Tx / Lufkin HS), at 6’1, had many eye-opening moments in 2010.  The high energy sophomore is a force at the net on offense and defense.

Laura Espinosa (Duncanville, Tx / Duncanville HS) was a very pleasant surprise last fall.  She expanded her game by adding a jump-serve that led the Lady Lions in aces for most of the year.

Coach Moore has a handful of veterans who give leadership to the squad. The team will officially name team captains following a vote on Monday, August 22.

Stat Leaders from Top 2010 Returners

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, SAGU Sports Information Director, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '; document.write(''); document.write(addy_text89949); document.write('<\/a>'); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 469-658-2847.