Five matches into her junior season at Auburn, Lawrence High product Jaunelle Hamilton has left her mark in the Tigers' all-time volleyball record book.
Hamilton, Kansas' 1995 Class 6A high school player of the year, already ranks fifth in career kills (1,087), fifth in block assists (241) and seventh in attack attempts (2,160) for Auburn. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker was an all-Southeastern Conference first-team selection as a freshman and sophomore.
"I never expected it all," Hamilton said of being a two-time SEC pick. "I played the best I could play and hopefully I could get an honor like that. It wasn't premeditated."
Hamilton returned home Thursday for a weekend tournament at Kansas University's Horejsi Family Athletics Center. Auburn will play Texas Christian at 2:30 p.m. today. On Saturday, Auburn will play Chicago State at 9:30 a.m. and Kansas at 2:30 p.m.
"I knew last year we'd be coming to Lawrence," Hamilton said. "I was excited. That's something coach (Kris Grunwald) has tried to do. She wants to schedule a match for the seniors so they can go back home."
If not for a knee injury the summer before her freshman year, Hamilton would be a senior this fall. She red-shirted in 1996 and has fully recovered.
According to her Lawrence sources, Hamilton should have a following for the weekend matches.
"I'm sure a couple of people will come out," Hamilton said. "My parents (Theo and Cheryl) told me some people from high school and church will be there."
During the recruiting process her senior year at LHS, Hamilton was wooed by KU, Oklahoma and Nebraska before selecting Auburn. Hamilton chose the Tigers because she had relatives near the Auburn, Ala., school.
Auburn, 22-9 last season, enters the KU tournament with a 4-1 record. Hamilton, who ranks No. 1 in school history in career attack percentage (.365), ranks second on the team with 84 kills this season.
An outside hitter in high school, Hamilton said the transition to middle blocker was smooth.
"For me it's all the same," she said. "I have more responsibility at middle blocker that I didn't have in high school."
Hamilton has impressed her college coach.
"Jaunelle has done amazing things as a freshman and a sophomore and she can still do more," Grunwald said in the Tigers' preseason media guide. "As an upperclassmen, she can help lead this team in the direction it needs to be."
Hamilton hopes the direction leads to a postseason berth.
"We've had three freshmen come in and they've helped," Hamilton said. "This team has communicated like no other team I've been on. We click really well together."
Hamilton and her high school teammates clicked in 1994 and '95, when the Lions won back-to-back state titles. LHS went 44-0 her senior year.
"That prepared me for a lot," Hamilton said of her LHS days. "Coach (Joan) Wells and coach (Jo) Huntsinger are great coaches. They all strived for one goal."
Jayhawk Classic
At Horejsi Family Athletics Center
TODAY'S MATCHES
TCU vs. Auburn, 2:30 p.m.
Kansas vs. Chicago State, 5 p.m.
Kansas vs. TCU, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY'S MATCHES
Auburn vs. Chicago State, 9:30 a.m.
TCU vs. Chicago State, noon
Kansas vs. Auburn, 2:30 p.m.
-- Steve Rottinghaus' phone message number is 832-7152. His e-mail address is srottinghaus@ljworld.com.
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