November 5, 2015 - The Panola College Fillies are 27-7 and ranked 14th in the nation heading into this weekend’s Region XIV Volleyball Tournament hosted by Tyler Junior College. Panola enters the tournament as the second place seed from the North, setting them up for a rematch at 9 a.m. in Wagstaff Gymnasium with Wharton County Junior College, a team currently ranked 16th nationally. The two teams split a pair of five-set thrillers earlier this season with the most recent victory going to Wharton on their home floor 20-18 in the fifth.
Shutdown blocking and defense has been the difference for Panola this year with Brittany Lampkin and Leiyona Young leading the conference in blocks per set with 1.10, and Rachel Henderson coming in third with 1.09 per set. Morgan Currie is third in digs per set (4.42) and overall digs (477), but she is not alone with five other Fillies registering in the top 20 dig leaders for our conference. Sharon Tukuaoga is second in conference with 317 kills this season, and Ana Oliveira is second in aces with 40 total.
With two National Tournament bids at stake, Panola is eyeing a chance to make its first appearance since 2009. This young team is battle-tested, playing 14 games against ranked opponents and only dropping 5 of those matches.
More tournament information and a complete bracket can be found here: http://www.apacheathletics.com/f.php?file=NJCAA_D1_Volleyball_Region_XIV...
The tournament is double-elimination format, and will last through Sunday afternoon.
