Jordan ShackFootball
Ansbach
Last week: Shack, a 5-9, 170-pound senior tailback, carried 25 times for 220 yards and four touchdowns Saturday as the defending European D-II champs thumped visiting Bitburg 50-14 in a European semifinal game.
"He is not a big back, but he has shown great toughness and explosiveness," Ansbach coach Marcus George wrote about his No. 3 tailback. On Saturday, we were shorthanded and asked him to step up against an outstanding Bitburg football team. He did."
Shack has rushed the ball 59 times for 639 yards and 14 touchdowns so far this season. His achievement on Saturday was the best by a Cougar runner in six years, George reported.
"Jordon has the luxury of running behind a veteran offensive line," George concluded. "Returning All-Europe center T.J. Dignan, seniors Kevin Stadler, Donavan Purdum and Jeff Brice and juniors Tim Abel and Carter Gunn have done an outstanding job."
Tatjana GaineyVolleyball
Kaiserslautern
Last week: Gainey, a 5-9 sophomore who transferred to the Lady Raiders this fall from Hanau, moved from outside hitter to middle blocker for the Lady Raiders. Saturday, she posted typical hitters’ totals of 11 kills in a 3-0 triumph over Mannheim and nine kills in a 3-0 conquest of Wiesbaden.
She supplemented those totals, however, with an unhitter-like nine aces in each match on a day which saw her miss just five of 51 total serve attempts.
And both the hitting and serving total are characteristic of Gainey, her coach Scott Davis wrote in an e-mail.
Gainey "leads the team in both kills and aces," Davis wrote. "Her serving percentage on the season is 86 percent and her hitting percentage is 84 percent."
Davis cited dedication as a particular Gainey strength.
"She worked extremely hard in the off-season to get ready for this year, and it really shows," Davis concluded. "She has a wonderful work ethic on and off the court, and we are praying she will be here until she graduates."
— Selected by Stars and Stripes staff