by Kathryn Young

Kenzie Shand, ‘17, came into her final volleyball season with plenty of accolades already under her belt. But being a two-time honorable mention All-American, three-time All-ODAC performer, as well as a two-time All-South Region player was not enough.

During the Generals’ 3-0 victory over Emory & Henry on October 18, Shand recorded her 1000th career kill. She is just the 11th player in Washington and Lee history to achieve this accomplishment.

Just four days later, Shand set a new Washington and Lee career blocks record in the Generals 3-0 sweep of Penn State- Harrisburg. The record, previously held by Virginia Yoerg, ’97, had stood for 20 years. Shand currently ranks third in W&L history for blocks in a single season, and ranks eighth for most blocks in ODAC history.

In the same game, Shand lead Head Coach Bryan Snyder to his 500th victory at Washington and Lee.

For the week ending Oct. 23, Shand was named the ODAC volleyball Player of the Week. In that week, she totaled 19 kills, hit .600, added 13 blocks, and five assists.

Although Shand is honored to be recognized, she is ready for bigger and better things for the team.

“It’s great and an honor to be recognized but at the end of the day they’re just numbers and don’t really mean anything if it doesn’t help propel us farther into the tournament this year,” Shand said.

Shand has a lot of faith in this year’s team, and was quick to point out that she is not in this alone.

“We have a great team and are really looking forward to playoffs this year and have a lot of possibility and potential in front of us,” she said.

The team went 9-2 in the ODAC this year, and looks forward to fighting for an ODAC Championship. The team was predicted to finish first in the ODAC Preseason Poll, and hopes to live up to these expectations.

Both Shand and Coach Snyder agree that the team’s depth across the board will help propel them into the ODAC tournament, according to an interview with GeneralsSports.com.

“We’ll be able to throw any six people on the floor and have a good chance to compete against other teams,” Shand said in the 2016 W&L Volleyball Season Preview interview back in August.

This still appear to be the case at this point in the season, as every player on the team has recorded stats this season and has assisted in the Generals’ success.

The Generals finished up the regular season at the Emory National Invitational over the weekend. They ended the regular season with a 22-9 record.