(Portions of this story were taken from the Trinity University and Colorado College Athletics Websites)
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the 2023 Division III All-America teams Tuesday, and five Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference players were recognized.
Maddie Fate and Mackenzie Logan of Trinity University were both named to the Second Team while Colorado College’s Isabella Lipacis along with Trinity’s Marisa Amarino and Brette Thorton earned Honorable Mention recognition. All five earned First Team All-Region honors earlier this month.
This marks the third-straight year the SCAC has placed five athletes on an All-American squad.
Fate, a senior middle blocker from New York, N.Y., also earned Honorable Mention All-America accolades last season and is also a two-time AVCA All-Region player. She earned First Team All-SCAC honors this season and was named to the All-SCAC Second Team in 2022. This year, Fate has been named to the All-Tournament Teams at the Trinity University National Invitational, the SCAC Championships, and the Mount Berry Regional Tournament. She was a two-time SCAC Defensive Player of the Week as well. Fate currently ranks fourth in the nation with 138 blocks this season, as well as ranking sixth in NCAA III with her .403 hitting percentage.
Logan, a senior outside hitter from Calgary, Canada, was also the SCAC Player of the Year and a First Team All-SCAC honoree this season. She was a two-time SCAC Offensive Player of the Week award-winner who was also named to the Trinity Fall Classic All-Tournament Team. Logan leads the Tigers with 358 total kills, averaging 3.69 kills per set. She has also piled up a team-best 377.0 points this season (3.89 per set).
Lipacis, a senior outside hitter from Piedmont, Calif., is making her second-straight appearance on the All-American Honorable Mention team. She led the team with 3.87 points per set. Despite playing in only 79 sets this year, she was third on the team with 270 kills and averaged a team-high 3.42 kills per set - which was also good for third in the conference. Defensively, she racked up 17 blocks and averaged 3.33 digs per set (second on the team). Lipacis made herself known as one of the best all-around players in the region and was one of 14 players to be honored as a first-team all-Region selection. Lipacis became the sixth player in program history to collect 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, and she is ranked sixth on CC's career list with 1,226 kills and 10th with 1,181 digs.
Amarino, a fifth year from Calabasas, Calif., earned the SCAC Setter of the Year honor and was named to the All-SCAC team for the fourth time in her career – securing selection on the First Team each of the last two seasons. In addition to earning All-Tournament honors at the Trinity Fall Classic, she was also honored during both the SCAC Tournament and the Mount Berry Regional Tournament. Amarino has piled up 706 assists (6.09 per set) and has led Trinity to a .243 team hitting percentage this season.
Thornton, a fifth year from Rockwall, Texas, earned First Team All-SCAC status this season, earning the SCAC Offensive Player of the Week award and a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the East-West Battle in California. Thornton is 15th in the country with 120 blocks this season, while also ranking 21st in the nation with her .365 hitting percentage. She is second on the team behind Fate in both categories, while also coming into the week second on the team with 343.5 points (2.82 per set) and 261 kills (2.14 per set).
To view the entire AVCA All-American team, click here.
