Nov. 8, 2006

ABILENE, Texas - Setting The Scene Hardin-Simmons will head to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history after claiming its first American Southwest Conference title last weekend in Seguin. The Cowgirls will get to see a familiar foe in former conference opponent Austin College. The two teams met in the finals of the ASC Tournament in the 2005 with AC winning, 3-0. Austin College has moved to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference this year. HSU is unranked with a 19-14 record and AC is ranked No. 19 in the nation with a 33-7 mark. Also in the regional are No. 5 Trinity, No. 12 Emory, No. 20 Southwestern and Averett.

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About The Season HSU has had another solid season, but a beefed up schedule has led to a few more losses. The Cowgirls are led by senior Virginia Aguilar, the two-time ASC West Player of the Year. The Cowgirls will start three freshmen, Kaela Parnell, Amanda Curry and either Amanda Mace or Vanessa Vanlandingham. The biggest difference between this season and last for the Cowgirls has been the ability to finish out games. HSU is 0-7 in five-set matches this season after going 6-2 last year. The Cowgirls have played seven regionally and five nationally ranked teams with a still relatively young team.

Aloha Senior middle blocker Virginia Aguilar has done nothing to hurt her chances of repeating as the American Southwest Conference West Division player of the year award. She hit an amazing .415 in conference play and was also one of the top servers and blockers in the conference. The Hawaii native also maintains a 4.0 GPA and should claim CoSIDA Academic All-American honors for the second straight year. She was named All-ASC and All-ASC West Division first team and was MVP of the Conference Tournament.

Rookies The Cowgirls have had to work four freshmen into the starting lineup this season. Setter Amanda Curry has started for most of the season at setter, before hurting her knee three weeks ago. She played last weekend in the ASC Tournament and should be good to go for this weekend. Sam Lucien has filled in as her replacement as setter and also is a good defensive specialist. Kaela Parnell is one of the leading candidates for the ASC Freshman of the Year honors. She is third on the team with 328 kills. Amanda Mace has started on the outside and has 230 kills. Vanessa Vanlandingham has made strides and played a lot toward the end of the season.

Head Coach Hugh Hernesman Third-year head coach Hugh Hernesman has brought a winning attitude to the Cowgirl program and his experience on the bench at national powerhouse UW-Whitewater has raised the level of expectations for the Cowgirls. In just his second season he led the Cowgirls to the ASC West Division title and in his third year won the ASC title and sent HSU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. He has upgraded the talent level for the Cowgirls. He is a two-time ASC coach of the year selection.

Quick Hits Senior Holly Amerena has set the school record for digs in a season with 693. Kerra LeBlanc had the old record of 434...Chelsea Buetow has set the school record for kills in a season with 398, passing the 382 of Jenny Brawner...Three of the top five kill seasons for the Cowgirls have come by players this season...Amerena, Buetow, Megan Lawrence, Amanda Curry and Virginia Aguilar were all named first-team All-ASC West Division and Kaela Parnell earned second-team honors.