ABILENE – A strong showing at the 2017 Southland Conference Championship landed Abilene Christian volleyball seniors
Kendall Bosse,
Jacey Smith and
Lauren Walker on the league's preseason second team, which was unveiled Thursday afternoon.
"Jacey, Kendall and Lauren all played large roles in the success our team found last fall," said second-year head coach Angela Mooney. "I'm very proud of all three receiving this recognition by the other members of the Southland Conference. Being named to a preseason team is an exciting accomplishment heading into their final season and we look forward to what they'll be able to achieve this fall."
A native of Round Rock, Walker was the Wildcats' only conference honoree following the regular season, earning honorable mention status at middle blocker after ranking seventh with 1.02 blocks per set. And following ACU's historic postseason run, in which the Wildcats' became the championship's first No. 8 seed to advance past the first round, Bosse and Smith were tabbed to the all-tournament team.
Bosse, a setter from Ingram, averaged 9.8 assists per set through the three matches in Corpus Christi, including 42 in the Wildcats' five-set win over top-seeded Stephen F. Austin, and 44 in ACU's four-set triumph over Houston Baptist in the semifinals.
On the season, Bosse ranked fifth in the Southland with 1,048 total assists (8.98 per set) with a season-high 51 assists coming in a 3-1 home win vs. New Orleans.
Smith, an outside hitter, was Bosse's favorite target most of the season, as she completed her junior season with 1,156 total attacks that ranked her among the top-100 players nationally (fourth in the Southland). The Wimberley native went on to total 54.5 points and average 4.17 kills per set at the tournament with 18 kills (.283) delivered in the championship loss vs. Central Arkansas and 20 against HBU (.271).
Smith last season also finished among the league's top-10 leaders with 35 aces to go along with 2.78 kills, 2.28 digs and 3.28 points per set.
Next up for the Wildcats is their annual intrasquad scrimmage, which is set for Friday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. The team will then shift to one practice per day starting Saturday and into next week, during which the Wildcats' play their first matches of the season at Georgia Tech (Aug. 24-25).
Returning players from the 2017 All-Conference First and Second teams are automatically named to the 2018 Preseason All-Conference teams. Vacant positions are nominated and voted upon by the conference's head coaches. Voting for one's own players is not permitted.
