VALDOSTA —
Valdosta State volleyball players Ashley Lala and Katie Onushko were named to the preseason All-Gulf South Conference team on Friday.
Lala, a sophomore setter from Kenner, La., and Onushko, a senior outside hitter from Alpharetta, were both All-Gulf South Conference selections in 2011. Lala was also named the 2011 GSC Freshman of the Year.
Christian Brothers had three players on the preseason All-GSC team, while VSU and West Florida had two players each. North Alabama and West Alabama both had one representative.
Valdosta State was picked to finish fourth in the conference this season. The Blazers received one third place vote, four fourth place votes and a fifth place vote. Last year, the Blazers went 17-18 and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament after upsetting West Alabama in the first round.
GSC coaches picked West Florida to win the conference. The Argonauts received all but two first-place votes. North Alabama was picked second and Christian Brothers was third.
Valdosta State freshmen outside hitters Kelsey Kovar and Nikki McDaniel were named to the list of the conference’s top newcomers. Kovar is from Stoney Creek, Ontario, while McDaniel comes from Deland, Fla.
Valdosta State will begin the 2012 volleyball season with its tournament, the Fairfield Inn and Suites Azalea Classic on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at The Complex. VSU, Albany State, Lander, Converse, Coastal Georgia and Florida Tech will be competing in the tournament. Valdosta State will face Converse and Florida Tech on Aug. 31 and Lander and Coastal Georgia on Sept. 1.
The next week, the Blazers will travel to Boca Raton, Fla. for the Lynn Invitational on Sept. 7-8. VSU will then return home to host Shorter, Alabama-Huntsville and West Georgia on consecutive days Sept. 13-15.
Then VSU will hit the road for its longest road trip of the season. The Blazers will play eight consecutive conference matches between Sept. 21 and Oct. 14. Then they will play in the GSC/Sunshine State Crossover Tournament in Tampa Oct. 18-20.
The Blazers will return home to play four matches in five days between Oct. 26-30, squaring off against North Alabama on the 26th, Christian Brothers on the 27th, Union on the 28th and Albany State on the 30th. Then they will finish the season with home matches against West Alabama on Nov. 2 and West Florida on Nov. 6. The Gulf South Conference Tournament will be played Nov. 15-17 in the home gym of the regular season champion.
Valdosta State’s Nate Anderson named All-America Scholar
VALDOSTA — Valdosta State golfer Nate Anderson was named a Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America on Friday.
Anderson earned the honor after winning the Gulf South Conference individual title in April. He was the only Blazer to play in all 11 tournaments last season, and finished the season with a 75.7 strokes per round average. His score counted in 27 of the squad’s 33 rounds.
In order to receive the All-America Scholar distinction, a golfer must be a junior or senior academically, participate in 70 percent of his team’s competitive rounds, have a stroke average under 78.0 and a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20.
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Valdosta State volleyball players Ashley Lala and Katie Onushko were named to the preseason All-Gulf South Conference team on Friday.
Discussion
Onushko, Lala named preseason All-GSC
VSU volleyball team picked to finish fourth
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