HANCEVILLE – Wallace State volleyball coach Randy Daniel reached an impressive milestone on the road Tuesday night, securing his 400th career victory with the Lions.
Daniel is the program’s all-time winningest coach with a career record of 400-88 in 11 seasons. His Wallace State teams have won eight consecutive ACCC tournament titles and made eight consecutive NJCAA Division I national tournament appearances.
Wallace State breezed to a 25-12, 25-15, 25-16 victory over Bevill State on Tuesday as the Lions (30-8, 15-0 Alabama Community College Conference) remained perfect in league play.
“I hadn’t thought about the No. 400 until someone mentioned it recently. It’s a nice number because it means I’ve been fortunate enough to have such great players in this program for 11 years. They are all a part of the sustained success we’ve had. The number means a lot of games, hours and days invested in the program, and I wouldn’t trade it for any other place,” Daniel said.
Before Tuesday’s match, Wallace State had already clinched its 10th consecutive ACCC regular season title under Daniel.
Lexie Riggins and Kati Thomas each finished with 11 kills for Wallace State against Bevill State. Abby Borden collected 18 assists for the Lions, Emily Wilson had 17 digs, Morgan Kyles contributed 10 assists, Kaylee Maddox had six kills and Alex Wiggins had six digs and three kills.
Wallace State wraps up conference action at Selma today. Entering Wednesday’s match, Wallace State has reeled off wins in 58 consecutive matches, stretching four regular seasons.
Borden leads the ACCC with 1,265 assists and has been named NJCAA Player of the Week once this season and the ACCC Player of the Week on three occasions.
Wilson, a Walker grad, is tops in the conference with 640 digs, and Maddox leads the ACCC with 441 kills. Riggins has added 340 kills.
“I’m very proud of our team. They heard negative comments about how they we’re going to be the team to break our winning streak or they’ve heard they weren’t talented enough to do big things,” Daniel said. “They’ve overcome adversity and we’ve had someone at nearly every position who is a leader. There’s a lot to like about this team.”
As the regular season conference champion, Wallace State has clinched the top seed in the upcoming ACCC Tournament, which begins on Nov. 3 at Snead State. Wallace State will seek its ninth straight conference title.
Men’s golf
Wallace State’s 10th-ranked golf team won its second fall tournament championship on Tuesday, prevailing at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Fall Invitational in Saucier, Miss.
Wallace State outlasted host Mississippi Gulf Coast, beating the Bulldogs by eight strokes.
Wallace State carded a six-over par 582 over the 36-hole event. Mississippi Gulf Coast finished with a 14-over 590 and Calhoun and Central Alabama tied for third with a 17-over 593.
Coming off an individual low medalist title at the NJCAA District IV Preview, Wallace State’s Brandon Lacasse finished second in Mississippi, finishing with a 1-under 143 (68-75).
Wallace State sophomore Thomas Gevas finished in a tie for sixth with a 2-over 146. He opened the invitational with a 75 and added a 71 on the final 18 holes.
Anthony Lumpkin (75-74) and Luke Wilson (72-77) each carded a 5-over 149 for the Lions, and Cody Maddox rounded out the field with a 155.
Wallace State also won its own Invitational in September.
The Lions next host the Friendship Cup beginning Oct. 26.
For more information about Wallace State athletics, visit http://athletics.wallacestate.edu.
