September 12, 2005
Laura Jones, a senior outside hitter at Texas A&M, has been named the Big 12 Conference Volleyball Player of the Week, the league office announced today.
Jones broke an A&M record with 39 points against LSU Saturday, smashing the previous record of 32 points held by Melissa Munsch since 2003 and tied by Jones against Texas in 2004. In addition, Jones' 35 kills in the five-game victory against the Tigers tied the school record set by Kristie Smedsrud against Wisconsin in 1996.
Jones was named to the all-tournament team at the UTSA Dome Rally after hitting .289 and averaging 6.15 kills, 3.23 digs, 0.92 blocks and 6.88 points per game against No. 6 Florida, No. 8 Southern California and LSU.
Jones, who entered the tournament ranked sixth in the A&M records for career kills, jumped to third after posting 20 kills against Florida while hitting at a .286 clip. Jones hit .281 with 25 kills, 18 digs and four blocks in the four-game loss to the Women of Troy.
The Arlington, Texas, native recorded a double-double in each of A&M's four matches during the week, posting 20 or more kills in every match as A&M went 2-2.
Jones and the No. 15 Aggies (7-2) open Big 12 play at Kansas on Wednesday. First serve is at 7 p.m. at the Horejsi family Athletics Center, and live audio will be available at AggieAthletics.com.