Aug. 23, 2011

Position Breakdown - Outside/Right Side Hitter

RUSTON, LA.- LATechSports.com continues position breakdowns of your 2011 Lady Techster volleyball squad today with an inside look at the middle blocker position.

The middle blocker position returns a multitude of experience this season that will look to counteract the loss of standout senior Kara Jones. Jones recorded double-digit kills in 11 matches last season while recording nine-plus kills in 15 of 30 starts. She led the Lady Techsters in attack percentage, total kills and total blocks. Her 381 career blocks places her third all-time on the Louisiana Tech career block list.

The position returns, Caitlin Germany and Gabryel Ording.

"With the loss of so many passers, it is nice to have returners in the middle position as they know the offense and defense," said Sonnichsen.

Redshirt junior, Ording started 23 of 33 matches last season. She converted five attacks into five kills against No. 4 Hawai'i (10/01/2010) and established career-highs in all major statistical categories in her start against Arkansas State (08/28/2010).

Germany, a 6-3 sophomore from Huntsville, Texas played in 32 matches as a true freshman, moving into the starting lineup late in the season. She totaled a career-high six kills in three different matches and had a career high three serviced aces vs. UAPB (10/20/2010) with all three coming on consecutive serves.

Adding to an already stacked position are freshmen Regan Himmelberg and Carly Pogson.

Himmelberg was a three-time letterwinner at Grapevine High School and was named first team all district as a senior along with finishing in the Prep Volleyball Top 100 Century Club High School Rankings.

Her counterpart, Pogson was originally a right-side hitter but made the transition to middle blocker during preseason practice. She was named all-district as a junior and senior at Loyola College Prep. The Shreveport native also earned district MVP honors at the conclusion of the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Tech opens play this Friday in the Sam Houston Invitational against UT-Pan American at 4:30 p.m. in Huntsville, Texas.

Check back this week for continued position-by-position breakdowns of your 2011 Lady Techsters.

For complete coverage of Techster Volleyball, please visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com and follow sports information contact, Kristen Rodgers, on twitter for the latest and most current news.

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