Volleyball Secures Berth in Regional Tournament

Amanda Booren - 10/16/2007

PASADENA, TX – With a 3-0 (30-18, 30-22, 30-17) victory over Wharton County Junior College on Tuesday night, the 12th-ranked San Jacinto volleyball team secured a spot in the Region XIV Conference Tournament to be held November 2-3, 2007.

San Jac (21-10, 6-0) sits atop the Region XIV District 14M standings, and begins the second-half of conference play on Thursday. San Jacinto is led by freshman outside hitter Julia Teixeira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Schindler (Hallettsville, Texas / Hallettsville High School). Teixeira ranks 25th in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) with a 3.8 kills per game average. She’s on pace to post the seventh-best kills per game mark in a season. Schindler leads the conference with 135 blocks this season, averaging 1.55 per game. She is ranked 12th in the nation in blocks per game, and has cracked the top-10 for most blocks in a season at San Jac. She needs only nine to become seventh on the list.

“It is wonderful to see the team’s hard work and dedication paying off for them,” said sixth-year head coach Sharon Nelson. “Each time we play, we see areas of improvement. With our win over Wharton County Junior College, we all but ensured another appearance in the District 14M Regional Tournament to compete for another trip to Nationals. All the hard work we put in all season goes into that weekend.”

Sophomore Ligia Clemente (Sao Paulo, Brazil) owns a 1.3 blocks per game mark, ranking her 25th in the country. The outside hitter is also averaging 3.6 kills per game while hitting .332 on the season. She is on pace to finish fifth all-time in hitting percentage.

San Jac will vie for its fourth-straight conference championship the first weekend in November in either Galveston (hosted by Galveston College) or Laredo (hosted by Laredo Community College). The location may not be decided until as late as Oct. 30 when Galveston College plays Wharton County Junior College. The regional tournament is a single elimination tournament, with the champions earning a bid to the NJCAA National Tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the first weekend in November.

“There are still many matches to go between now and regionals,” added Nelson. “We need to take care of all of them in order to earn another conference championship.”

In the meantime, San Jac opens the second half of Region XIV play against Lee College tonight in Baytown. SJC rounds out its home season on Tuesday, Oct. 23 against Alvin and Tuesday, Oct. 30 versus Blinn College. All games are played at the Anders Gymnasium on the San Jacinto College Central campus. Matches are free and open to the public.

For more information and to see a complete schedule, please visit the athletics page of the San Jacinto College website at www.sanjac.edu.