FRISCO - Senior middle blocker Connie Picard led a quartet of UTSA players named to the All-Southland Conference teams, the league office announced on Thursday.
Picard became the 11th Roadrunner in school history to be named to the conference's first team and it marks the fourth year in a row that a UTSA student-athlete has represented the program on the SLC's top squad.
The Spring native took her game to the next level in her fourth and final season. Now a three-time all-conference performer, she leads the league with a UTSA-record .356 hitting percentage and ranks second in solo blocks (29), fifth in total blocks per game (1.1 pg) and eighth in kills per contest (3.7 pg) this season. In SLC matches, she upped her hitting to an amazing .375 percent and ranked fourth in total blocks (1.3 pg).
Picard has registered double-figure kills in her last 18 matches and in all but three contests this season. She has set or tied her career high for winners three different times this year, the last of which was 23 against Northwestern State (Oct. 13). Picard also had career bests with four solo blocks against Lamar (Nov. 4) and nine block assists against Sam Houston State (Sept. 23). With her performance this year, she has moved her name up the school’s all-time record book — total blocks (second/449), block solos (second/94), block assists (second/355), kills (sixth/1,383) and attacks (seventh/3,203).
Also earning postseason honors were seniors Meagan Daniel and Erin McMillan, who were third-team selections, and senior setter DeeDee Strickland was an honorable mention choice.
Daniel, a first-team honoree the past three seasons, missed five of six matches from Sept. 30-Oct. 14 but still ranks fifth in the league in kills per game (3.8 pg) and ninth in service aces per contest (0.4 pg). The outside hitter from Hereford raised her winners average to 4.1 per game in conference play, which ranked sixth. She is second on the team with 383 kills, 35 service aces and 340 digs (3.4 pg) this season. Her name can be found all over the school’s career record book — attacks (first/5,106), kills (second/1,791), service aces (third/143) and digs (fifth/1,413).
McMillan ranks fourth in the SLC with 5.6 digs per game, and in conference matches, her average stands at 6.4, which ranked third this year. The three-time All-SLC libero finished the regular season with four consecutive 30-dig performances and she has 10 this year. She set UTSA's single-match (42), single-season (701) and career (2,246) records this season and her all-time total ranks among the top 10 in NCAA history.
Strickland leads the Roadrunners with 1,232 assists this season and she ranks ninth in the league at 9.9 helpers per game. The four-time All-SLC performer also is third on the team with 298 digs (2.4 pg). The League City native has not missed a match during her four-year career and she stands second on UTSA’s career charts with 5,361 assists, which is just 79 shy of Natasha Biggers' school record (5,440/1997-2000), and ninth with 1,246 digs.
The fourth-seeded Roadrunners (19-12) are back in action on Friday night when they play No. 5 Texas State (14-16) in the quarterfinals of the SLC Tournament. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Convocation Center. For more information on this year's event, click here.
2006 All-Southland Conference Teams
First Team
Torie Dacus, Texas-Arlington, OH
Stephanie Figgers, Stephen F. Austin, L
J.J. Jones, Stephen F. Austin, S
Buchi Okoh, Lamar, MB
Connie Picard, UTSA, MB
Traci Rohde, Stephen F. Austin, MB
Second Team
Tiffany Baker, McNeese State, OH
Lawrencia Brown, Texas State, OH
Emily Nedderman, Texas-Arlington, S
Atina Porter, Nicholls State, OH
Lauren Railey, Stephen F. Austin, OH
Ashley Smith, Texas-Arlington, L
Third Team
Meagan Daniel, UTSA, OH
Christie Feliz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, OH
Kelly Fletcher, Texas State, OH
Erin McMillan, UTSA, L
Camila Scapini, Central Arkansas, MB
Marquita Williams, McNeese State, MB
Honorable Mention
Sarah Cartie, McNeese State; Ariane Damasio, Northwestern State; Karry Griffin, Texas State; Laura North, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Lindsey Roebken, Sam Houston State; Jessica Strama, McNeese State; DeeDee Strickland, UTSA; Shelly Swendig, Stephen F. Austin.
Player of the Year: Stephanie Figgers, Stephen F. Austin
Setter of the Year: J.J. Jones, Stephen F. Austin
Libero of the Year: Stephanie Figgers, Stephen F. Austin
Newcomer of the Year: Christie Feliz, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Freshman of the Year: Robyn Smith, Central Arkansas
Katrinka Joe Crawford Coach of the Year: Debbie Humphreys, Stephen F. Austin