Bear cat Sport s
Angermeier Leads Volleyball to 18-13 Season The Lander volleyball team posted its most successful season in five years when the Bearcats finished the 2014 campaign 18-13 overall and 7-11 in the Peach Belt Conference. Tarryn Angermeier, who was the 2012 PBC Freshman of the Year, became one of the Tarryn Angermeier program’s most-celebrated players after she claimed All-PBC and AVCA All-Southeast Region honors this season. Angermeier, a sophomore middle-hitter from Spartanburg, led the team in kills (383), kills-per-set (3.42) and total attacks (1010). She was second on the team in hitting percentage (.264) and total blocks (86). In the PBC, she was second in kills-per-set; fifth in total kills and total attacks; seventh in hitting percentage; and ninth in block assists (76). Senior Hannah Dederick led the Bearcats in hitting percentage with .283 and was second on the team in total kills (330). The Bearcats, who are led by second-year Coach Ashley Stathas, ’06, won seven of their first eight games and scored a 3-1 victory over UNC Pembroke in their PBC opener at Horne Arena. After falling to Flagler, 3-0, in the regular-season finale, the Bearcats earned the seventh seed in the PBC Tournament and had to face second-seeded Flagler in the quarterfinal round. Down 2-0, Lander won the third set before bowing out of the tournament in four.
Lady Bearcats Reach PBC Tournament Semifinals
Danielle Shaw
Casey Black
The Lander women’s soccer team keeps knocking on the door. The Lady Bearcats earned a school-record 13 victories in 2013 and made it to the semifinals of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. But, once again, they were denied entry into the championship game. Lander advanced to the PBC Tournament semifinals by beating North Georgia, 5-3. The Lady Bearcats lost the chance at playing in the program’s first-ever PBC Tournament championship game when they fell to Clayton State, 2-1, in overtime, in the semifinals. Chris Ayer, who has amassed an 80-51-8 overall record (.604 winning percentage) in nine years as Lander’s head coach, has turned the program into an annual contender. Last
season marked the fourth time in the last six years the Lady Bearcats have reached the PBC semifinals. In addition to tying the 2007 and 2011 teams with 13 victories, Lander also placed a team-record five players on the All-PBC team. Midfielder Casey Black, a junior from Moore, and defender Danielle Shaw, a senior from Columbia, were named to the All-PBC first team. In addition, forward Kimberly Kesler, a junior from Moore; midfielder Noel McDaniel, a sophomore from Lexington; and defender Hilary Ferguson, a junior from Charleston, were placed on the second team. Shaw was named second team on both the NSCAA and Daktronics All-Southeast Region teams, while Black and Ferguson made the NSCAA All-Southeast Region squad.
Women’s Basketball Rebuilds with Seven New Players It was a topsy-turvy year for the Lander women’s basketball team. While senior Aarika Judge – the 2012-13 team’s Most Valuable Player – missed the season due to an injury, Head Coach Kevin Pederson was given the task of introducing seven new players into a lineup that missed Kayla West qualifying for the Peach Belt Conference Tournament the previous season. Faced with missing the tournament for a second straight year, the Lady Bearcats secured the last available spot with a 64-61 victory at Francis Marion in the regular-season finale. Ty’hesha Reynolds, a freshman guard from Savannah, Ga., gave Lander a chance for an upset against top-seeded Clayton State when she scored 23 of her game-high 32 points in the first half, but the Lady Lakers pulled away late for a 75-73 victory. Kayla West, a junior guard from North Augusta, led the Lady Bearcats with 14 points per game; while Reynolds added 12.9; Portia McCray, a 5’10” junior from Loganville, Ga., 11.3; and Alexis Armstrong, a freshman from Gastonia, N.C., 10.9. Alyssia Watkins, a freshman from Forest City, N.C., led the team in rebounds with 6.6, while McCray had 6.1. The Lady Bearcats finished with a 12-17 overall record and were 7-12 in the PBC.
Follow the Bearcats For full schedules, results and the latest information on all Lander sports, visit:
www.landerbearcats.com
Lander Magazine • Spring 2014
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