Volleyball season is quickly approaching and Southern’s Lady Jaguars are aiming for the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) title.
“Our goal is to win the championship; they inspired us by picking us dead last,” said SU coach Nathaniel Denu about preseason rankings by league coaches and sports information directors. Ranked ninth in SWAC (1-7) at the close of last year’s season—one step above Alcorn state (0-8)—Southern is facing an uphill battle.
“Our conference has gotten much stronger,” Denu said as he enters his 28th season at Southern.
“Now there’s not a team that we consider a weak team.”
Describing himself as a “defensive-minded coach,” he cited improving the team’s defensive skills as the key to winning the SWAC title. The team averaged 2.7 reception errors per game and committed 78 blocking errors throughout the season, respectively 50 percent and 15 percent more than their opponents.
Eleven letter winners and four new additions comprise this season’s roster, including seniors Ena Payne, who was selected for the preseason All-SWAC first team, and setter Lakenya Simpson, who is serving as a team captain along with junior outside hitter Candace Southall.
Last season, Payne was selected to the 2007 All-SWAC second team and Simpson ranked fifth in conference in average assists per game.
Southall, who averaged 1.92 kills per game and tallied 16 service aces, has her sights on “winning SWAC and getting a position in all-conference.”
According to Southall, newcomers LaCreesha Allen, Kirsten Buggage, Beonka Savoy and Tamika Williams are adjusting well to life as college athletes.
Savoy, a biology major from Lafayette, is excited about the upcoming season and focused on obtaining SWAC honors. While making the transition to college volleyball, Savoy’s biggest challenge was the conditioning.
“I would say that we didn’t condition enough in high school, but as for my playing experience, I think it helped a lot,” said Savoy, who also participated in track and field at Northside High.
The Lady Jaguars face Houston Baptist on Sept. 1, and will host their first home game against Dillard on Sept. 6 at 2 p.m. in Seymour Gym. The team encourages students to come out and show their support.
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