Being the daughter of a former football star and current television personality hasn’t stopped Bailey Tillman from carving out an athletic name for herself.

She has even done some television to follow in her dad’s footsteps.

Last week the junior volleyball player for McNeese State set a career milestone when she recorded her 1,000th career dig. As a result, she earned Defender of the Week honors in the Southland Conference.

“I am so proud of Bailey for hitting that milestone,” said second-year McNeese head coach Sasha Karelov. “There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears that went into that.”

McNeese plans to honor Tillman during an upcoming match, and the hope is her father, former Oklahoma and NFL running back Spencer Tillman, will be on hand. He works for Fox Sports covering college football.

“He is going to try and be here, which would be great,” Tillman said. “He has been tough but he gives great advice and encouragement.”

Tillman, a three-year performer for McNeese, is the best defensive player in the conference, helping build the Cowgirls into a title contender. Last year McNeese was in the regular-season title race until the final week.

This year the Cowgirls (6-12) are 4-1 in the conference after struggling through the pre-league portion of their schedule with a 2-11 record. They host last place and winless Lamar (0-16, 0-5 SLC) at 6:30 p.m. today.

“We are a young team that is coming together,” Tillman said. “It was great to play against those big schools and in those environments in front of all those people. It will help us when you get into tough situations in the conference.”

Tillman is one of five returnees and has taken on a leadership role after being named a captain.

“I try to help the younger players where I can, to be a friend if they need one and somebody they can talk to,” Tillman said. “We have such a young team they need people to look up to.”

But it is Tillman’s play that is the real energy boost for McNeese. She is more than willing to dive on the floor or race into the crowd to make the play.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep the ball off the ground,” she said. “I can feel the energy from the crowd when I dive.”

That seems to get the rest of the team going.

“She leads by example,” Karelov said. “She is such a great person on and off the court.”

Tillman is also willing to fight through all the bumps and bruises of a long season, something she likely picked up from her dad.

However, carrying a famous name has its good and bad.

“My talent speaks for itself, but there is pressure because of the background noise,” Tillman said. “Some people will say you are getting attention because of your dad. You can’t worry about that.”

Tillman would like to follow her father when it comes to her post-playing career. The mass communication major worked some television during last July’s SLC Football Media Day, which her dad was also a part of.

“That’s what I would like to do when I’m done,” Tillman said.

For now, she says she’s concerned with helping the Cowgirls capture a conference title and going after her second thousand digs.