LEXINGTON, Ky. – Six Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference volleyball players earned All-West Region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association this week.
Trinity University seniors Erin Cusenbary and Maggie Emodi and sophomore Erika Edrington received All- West Region First Team Honors, joined by Colorado College’s sophomore Abbe Holtze. TU senior Layne Hubbard and CC sophomore Keli Sherwood received honorable mention.
Emodi earned her third All-Region selection, having been previously named in 2011 and 2013. In 2011, she was the Region Freshman of the Year. Emodi leads Trinity’s team with 469 total kills, which ranks second in the conference, for an average of 3.72 per set.
Cusenbary picked up All-Region accolades for the second consecutive year. She is the SCAC leader in hitting percentage, at .346 (346 kills, 95 errors, 726 total attacks), and ranks second in the conference for total blocks and blocks per set (151 total, 1.18 per set).
Edrington led Trinity with 1,026 assists, averaging 7.54 per set, which ranks second among the SCAC, to earn her first AVCA All-Region honors.
Holtze earned her second AVCA first-team selection after leading CC with 535.5 points while averaging 3.85 kills per set. She also was second on the team in digs (3.49) and fifth in blocks (0.44). Holtze also set personal single-season highs with 485 kills, 440 digs and 55 total blocks. That performance led to Holtze being named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year, as well as a first-team all-league selection for the second consecutive season.
Hubbard made an All-Region Team for the third straight time. She posted 465 digs (3.78 per set) and 274 kills (2.23 per set) this season. Hubbard was also named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player, becoming the first player in SCAC history to earn the honor twice. Emodi and Edrington also joined Hubbard on the All-Tournament Team.
Sherwood was a second-team all-SCAC pick. In her first season as a starter, she led CC with a .297 hitting percentage and a 0.89 blocks per set average. She also was fourth averaging 2.13 kills per set. This was the first AVCA honor the middle hitter has received in her career after ranking third in the conference in hitting percentage and fourth in blocks per set.
Trinity will continue its season this Friday, taking on the University of La Verne in the first round of the NCAA tournament. TU earned an automatic bid to the tournament after defeating Southwestern University 3-0 in the SCAC championship match.
Colorado College earned an at-large bid to the tournament, finishing the season with a record of 29-8, 11-3 in the SCAC. CC will take on Pacific Lutheran in the first round of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship.
