Volleyball Southern Conference

SoCon Announces November Athletes of the Month

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its November athletes of the month for men’s and women’s basketball, football, volleyball and wrestling Wednesday, highlighting excellence among student-athletes during the month.

MEN’S BASKETBALL
James Sinclair, Western Carolina, Sr., G
Western Carolina guard James Sinclair averaged 19.3 points and 5.7 rebounds in six November games to help the Catamounts to a 3-3 mark. Sinclair opened the season with four straight 20-plus games, scoring 20 in a 10-point loss at Mississippi State to open the season. He followed that up with a career night in another close loss at an SEC opponent, scoring 31 points in an 80-74 setback at Alabama. The senior from Savannah, Ga., then led WCU to its first win of the season with 25 points and nine rebounds against Hiwassee before capping his 20-point spurt with an even 20 and another nine boards in a double-overtime win at Oakland in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic. He averaged 10 points and four rebounds per game as the Catamounts split their final two contests of the tournament, losing to Georgia State and topping Chicago State. For the month, Sinclair was second in the SoCon in scoring and steals per game (2.2). He was the SoCon Player of the Week on Nov. 18.

Other nominees: Ashton Moore (The Citadel), Jalen Riley (ETSU), Christen Cunningham (Samford), Casey Jones (Chattanooga) and Karl Cochran (Wofford).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Precious Bridges, Mercer, Sr., G
Mercer guard Precious Bridges helped the Bears to a 4-2 record in November, scoring a league-best 24.8 points per game and pulling down 6.3 rebounds per game, good for 10th in the SoCon. The senior from West Palm Beach, Fla., reached the 20-point threshold in five of her six contests, including a career-high 43 points in a double-overtime win at Saint Louis on Nov. 28 in which she was 18-for-39 from the floor and added nine rebounds. Her 43 points were the second-most in a Division I game this season. Bridges opened her campaign with 22 points at Mississippi State and followed that up with 27 in a win over Jackson State. She scored 21 in a win over Eastern Kentucky before recording her first double-double of the season with 28 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Tennessee Tech. For the month, Bridges shot 45.8 percent from the floor (55-for-120) and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line (30-for-36), including a 12-for-14 effort against TTU. She was named the SoCon Player of the Week for her performances in her final three November games.

Other nominees: Shamauria Bridges (ETSU), Brittany Hodges (Furman), Jasmine Joyner (Chattanooga), Taylor Reece (Samford), Justin Taylor (Western Carolina) and Jordan Frazier (Wofford).

FOOTBALL

OFFENSE
Keon Williams, Chattanooga, Sr., RB
Chattanooga running back Keon Williams rushed for 458 yards and seven touchdowns in four November games, helping the Mocs to a perfect 4-0 mark and topping UTC’s career rushing TD total with 29. The senior from Chattanooga, Tenn., opened his month with a career-best 194 yards and two touchdowns in the Mocs’ 51-0 over Western Carolina in a battle of SoCon unbeaten, earning SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honors. The following week against Wofford, Williams tied his career high with three TDs on a career-high 27 carries for 91 yards as the Mocs clinched their first outright SoCon title and FCS Playoff bid since 1984. Against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 15, Williams ran for 76 yards and had a 40-yard reception. He closed his month with 97 yards and another pair of touchdowns in UTC’s win over Furman, which clinched the Mocs’ first undefeated SoCon season in school history.

Other nominees: Aaron Miller (The Citadel), Denzel Williams (Samford), Troy Mitchell (Western Carolina) and Lorenzo Long (Wofford).

DEFENSE
Justin Cooper, Samford, R-Jr., LB
Samford linebacker Justin Cooper helped the Bulldogs to a 3-1 mark in November with 43 tackles, four of which went for loss, and a forced fumble. The redshirt junior from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., helped Samford’s defense pitch its second straight shutout to open the month, forcing a fumble and making five tackles, four solo and one for loss, in a 55-0 win over Concordia. The following week, Cooper had 13 solo tackles and 14 overall in a win over Western Carolina to earn SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors, with two of those tackles going for lost yardage. Against The Citadel on Nov. 15, Cooper turned in a career-high 17 tackles, 15 solo, and a quarterback hurry in the Samford win, again earning SoCon Defensive Player of the Week mention. In the Bulldogs’ season finale at No. 16 FBS Auburn, Cooper had seven tackles, including a 15-yard sack.

Other nominees: Justin Oxendine (The Citadel), Keionta Davis (Chattanooga), Christon Gill (Western Carolina) and Kevin Thomas (Wofford).

VOLLEYBALL

OFFENSE
Ashton Gregory, Furman, So., MB
Furman middle blocker Ashton Gregory averaged 3.79 kills per set and hit a league-best .444 in November to lead the Paladins to a 7-1 record and the SoCon Volleyball Championship title match. The SoCon Player of the Year, Gregory also averaged a SoCon-best 1.39 blocks per set in the month, recording at least three blocks in all but one match. The sophomore from Yadkinville, N.C., reached double digits in kills in seven of her eight matches in the month, the first five of which were three-game sweeps by the Paladins. Gregory had 17 kills in Furman’s regular-season finale at Chattanooga and followed that up with another 17 in a SoCon quarterfinals win over Wofford. She opened her month with 16 kills at UNCG, recording just one error and an impressive .625 hitting percentage. Gregory had 25 of her 39 November blocks in the SoCon tournament alone, opening with eight against Wofford and following that with seven against Western Carolina in the semifinals. She had 10 kills and a tournament-best 10 blocks against Samford in the title bout, including five solo blocks, the best mark in the SoCon this season. She earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

Other nominees: Bailey Kernodle (The Citadel), Meredith Hardy (ETSU), Caroline Carlton (Mercer), Michaela Reesor (Samford) and Sarah Batterton (Chattanooga).

DEFENSE
Katie Muey, ETSU, Sr., L
ETSU libero Katie Muey averaged a league-leading 5.97 digs per set in November, which was more than a dig per set ahead of the next closest mark, to help the Bucs to a 6-1 mark. The Alexandria, Ind., senior had at least 20 digs in six of ETSU’s seven matches, including 33 in a five-set win over Western Carolina on Nov. 4, good for the fourth-highest total in the SoCon this season. Muey, who was also the SoCon Defensive Player of the Month in October, had four of the top five single-match digs marks in the league this season. The SoCon Libero of the Year and a first-team all-conference selection, Muey had 28 digs in a four-set win over Samford and 26 in a four-set win over Wofford. She opened the month with 24 digs against Chattanooga on Nov. 1 and had 22 in a win over The Citadel and 19 in the Bucs’ regular-season finale at Mercer. She had 21 digs in ETSU’s three-set quarterfinal loss to Western Carolina at the SoCon Volleyball Championship. With a season average of 5.38 digs per set, Muey ranks 15th nationally.

Other nominees: Lauren Hurt (The Citadel), Ashton Gregory (Furman), Chelsi Carter (Samford) and Nicole Sumida (Chattanooga).  

WRESTLING
Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State, So., 285 pounds
Appalachian State heavyweight Denzel Dejournette went 15-0 in November, winning a pair of tournaments and taking SoCon Wrestler of the Week honors twice. The sophomore native of Winston-Salem, N.C., was 5-0 in dual action and picked up bonus points in nearly half his matches with five pins, a major decision and a technical fall. Dejournette opened the season with a pair of wins in duals against Cumberland and Buffalo, pinning Cumberland’s Corey Daniels in just 1:15 and picking up a major decision against UB’s Mike Silvis. Dejournette earned wins in duals against Cal State Bakersfield and No. 11 Illinois in California before winning the heavyweight division at Bakersfield’s Roadrunner Open. He opened with a tech fall of Bakersfield’s Steven Wood and beat a pair of Illini wrestlers in his title run, topping Chris Lopez for the second time in as many meetings and pinning No. 18 Brooks Black in the championship bout. The following weekend, Dejournette kept his undefeated season intact with five more wins at the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa., and he turned in his fifth pin of the season in a 22-21 dual loss to North Carolina on Nov. 30, sticking Frank Abbondanza in 1:57.

Other nominees: Aaron Walker (The Citadel), Kevin Birmingham (Davidson), Connor McMahon (SIUE), Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) and Dalton Henderson (VMI).

Southern Conference November Athletes of the Month
Men’s basketball         James Sinclair, Western Carolina
Women’s basketball    Precious Bridges, Mercer
Football – offense        Keon Williams, Chattanooga
Football – defense       Justin Cooper, Samford
Volleyball – offense      Ashton Gregory, Furman
Volleyball – defense     Katie Muey, ETSU
Wrestling                    Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State    

-www.SoConSports.com-