Dec. 18, 2008

BEAUMONT - Lamar University senior volleyball seniors Shalayne Blythe and Ashley Todd were named to the 2008 Southland Conference Volleyball All-Academic Team the league office announced Thursday.

Blythe, a senior interdisciplinary studies major, was an automatic selection to the first team after earning CoSIDA Academic All-District VI University Division third team honors earlier in the season. A native of Port Neches, Texas, she was named to the Southland Conference All Tournament team after helping the Lady Cards to the tournament title. She played in all 29 matches this season and finished second on the team in kills, hitting percentage and blocks.

Todd, a senior exercise science major, was named to the second team. The Corpus Christi, Texas native earned second team all conference honors as a setter for the Lady Cardinals after playing in all 29 matches for LU. She finished her career ranked sixth in school history in assists with 2,873.

Along with their academic success, Blythe and Todd helped lead the Lady Cardinals to their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1993. Lamar volleyball finished the season with a 17-12 record and a second place finish in the SLC.