Southland Conference Announces 2011 Volleyball Preseason TeamsCentral Arkansas led all teams with five selections, including four first-team honors. UTSA placed three student-athletes on the teams, while Lamar, Sam Houston State, UT Arlington and Texas State had two apiece. Stephen F. Austin and McNeese State each had one student-athlete.
The Sugar Bears return nine players from last season's team and will be guided by new head coach David McFatrich. Joining Collins on the first-team all-conference team for Central Arkansas were seniors Jessica Hays and Cristin Curl and junior Taylor Hammonds. Sophomore Jessica Nagy was the fifth Sugar Bear to earn preseason honors as she earned second-team recognition. Hays, an outside hitter from Friendswood, Texas, led the conference in kills (487) and service aces (75) in 2010. Curl, the libero from Amarillo, Texas, led her team in digs a season ago (572) and was fifth in the conference in digs per set (4.65). A middle blocker from Tomball, Texas, Hammonds was second on the team and sixth in the conference last year in hitting percentage (.322). Nagy, a Carleton, Mich., native, led the Southland in hitting percentage last season (.346) and is the second-leading server returning to the team as she recorded 31 aces.