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NCTC's Deidra Allen named All-American

By DARIN ALLRED

Register Sports Editor

A member of the North Central Texas College volleyball team was recently selected as an All-American.

NCTC freshman Deidra Allen of Longview was recently named second-team National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American.

Allen, who played high school ball at Longview Pine Tree, was both a setter and outside hitter for the Lady Lions this fall. NCTC finished with a record of 27-14 and advanced to the championship match of the regional tournament before falling in a five-game marathon.

Allen, who was voted the Most Valuable Player on the NTJCAC All-Conference Team, finished eighth in the nation in hitting efficiency at 50.85 percent. She had 219 kills, 603 assists, 171 digs, 81 blocks and 9 aces this season.

Lady Lions head coach Angie Bullard says that Allen has all the skills you look for in an All-American.

"Deidra is a very consistent all-around volleyball player," Bullard said. "Her leadership skills are something that you just can't teach at this level. She is just a good player and a good person and people respect her. She works hard everyday and leads by example in that manner."

Allen, who was one of 11 freshmen on this past season's Lady Lions team, says she was surprised how her first college season turned out.

"I thought it would be fun but I didn't expect the season to go as well as it did," she said. "I enjoyed being around all the girls and I think we had a good season, even though it didn't end on the greatest note."

The freshman says that the team enjoyed so much success this year partly because they all got along well.

"Everybody came out of high school as the best player on their team," Allen said. "We all just worked really hard in practice and we gelled together well. We had good team chemistry."

What made Allen special, according to Bullard, was her ability to be both a strong setter and hitter.

"It's rare at the junior college level because a lot of times they go to a four-year school right away," Bullard said. "She is a very strong hitter and has improved a lot on her blocking this year. That is something we look for her to do again next season."

As for next season, Allen says that all of the returning players are already working out to get ready to make a run for the national tournament.

"We are working really hard this off-season, doing a lot of running and conditioning," she said. "I think we will be ready for next year."

Three Lions Names to the All-Conference and All-Region Teams.

The North Central Texas College Lady Lions volleyball team had an outstanding season, and now three of their players have been honored by the coaches in their conference. NCTC's Deidra Allen, Amy Clendenin and Alisha Bourgo were all named to the North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference (NTJCAC) All-Conference team recently. They were also named to the All-Region team for NJCAA Region V.

Allen, a freshman from Longview, was named the conference's Most Valuable Player. She has been ranked all season long as a national leader in assists and hitting efficiency. She is currently ranked 8th in the nation in hitting efficiency (50.85 percent). In 132 games played, she had 603 assists, 219 kills, 171 digs, 81 blocks and 9 aces. "Deidra is our team leader and MVP," NCTC coach Angie Bullard said. "She is very consistent in all areas of the game and is well respected by her teammates both on and off the court." Clendenin, also a freshman from Longview, was the Lady Lions' leader in kills with 427. She also had 116 blocks, 103 digs and 11 aces. "Amy is one of our most competitive players and our strongest hitter," Bullard said. "She makes very few errors and has been ranked in NJCAA stats for kills and hitting efficiency." Bourgo, a freshman from Yoakum, is ranked fifth in the nation in blocks per game at 2.277. She had 312 blocks this season to go along with 389 kills, 191 digs and 30 aces. "Alisha is one of our most athletic players," Bullard said. "She has the ability to dominate at the net and led the nation in blocks for most of the season."

The three talented freshmen helped lead the Lady Lions to a 27-14 record and a second place finish in both conference play and at the regional tournament. They made it to the championship match at regionals but fell five points short. "These three girls did more than just produce big numbers for us," Bullard said. "They are great competitors who have the ability to take our game to the next level. We have received some national attention this season largely due to their play." Allen, Clendenin and Bourgo will all return to NCTC next year along with eight of their freshmen teammates. Couple that with what will surely be a strong recruiting class, and the Lady Lions could have a team that can make a run at a national tournament berth in 2005. "I am very pleased to have a strong core of athletes returning to play their sophomore year together," Bullard said. "The regional final game was a real heartbreaker for all of us. I think this group feels like we let a trip to Nationals slip away this season. They are already talking about next year and taking care of the unfinished business."

 
 

Lady Lions fall one win short at regional tourney

TEMPLE -- North Central Texas College was five points away from qualifying for the national tournament in volleyball, but the Lady Lions came up just short.

NCTC made it to the championship match at the regional tournament in Temple Saturday by winning a pair of matches. Their final match against host Temple College went five games, but the Lady Lions fell five points short.

After going 1-1 on the first day of the tournament Friday, NCTC played Vernon College in an elimination match Saturday morning. The Lady Lions won that match 30-16, 27-30, 30-18, 30-24.

Erin Hirt had 32 assists, Deidra Allen had 24 assists, 12 kills and 5 blocks; Karlee Juett had 5 digs; Ashley Tibbetts had 13 kills, 1 block and 6 digs; Amy Clendenin had 24 kills, 6 blocks and 6 digs; Alisha Bourgo had 13 kills, 9 blocks and 9 digs; Amanda Crawford had 2 kills, 9 blocks and 2 aces; and Toni Leverett had 4 kills and 3 blocks.

NCTC then had to take on Temple , who had not lost in the tournament. The Lady Lions won 30-25, 25-30, 30-21, 25-30, 15-6.

Hirt had 22 assists; Allen had 29 assists, 9 kills and 2 blocks; Juett had 18 digs; Kellie Everett had 3 digs; Tibbetts had 13 kills and 2 blocks; Clendenin had 20 kills and 8 blocks; Bourgo had 18 kills and 22 blocks; Annber Jackson had 1 block; Crawford had 4 kills, 7 blocks and 2 aces; and Leverett had 4 kills and 12 blocks.

That win set up another matchup between NCTC and Temple with the winner qualifying for nationals. That match also went five games with NCTC falling 28-30, 21-30, 30-27, 30-21, 11-15.

Hirt had 32 assists; Allen had 36 assists and 16 kills; Juett had 22 digs; Everett had 5 digs; Tibbetts had 16 kills and 2 blocks; Clendenin had 26 kills and 4 blocks; Bourgo had 15 kills and 13 blocks; Crawford had 2 kills and 5 blocks; and Leverett had 2 kills and 9 blocks.

North Central finished the season with a record of 27-14. They finished second in conference and second at the regional tournament. They will only lose two sophomores (Crawford and Tibbetts) from this year's team.