Stephen F. Austin’s Holland Named Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Stephen F. Austin senior setter Paige Holland was selected as 2014 Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league office announced Thursday in conjunction with the release of the all-academic volleyball teams.
Holland earned Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team honors earlier today and was a Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selection. The senior setter was one of just 18 student-athletes to earn academic All-America status at the Division I level. Holland was named Southland Conference Setter of the Year and was selected to the All-Southland First Team after finishing second in the conference with 11.60 assists per set in league matches. The Magnolia, Texas (Magnolia H.S.), native recorded 603 assists in regular season conference play and 1,097 assists overall on the year. Holland led the Ladyjacks to a perfect 16-0 regular season league mark and the fifth-longest winning streak in the nation during a 17-match stretch. The senior guided the Ladyjacks to the Southland regular season title for the first outright championship for the program since 2006. Holland helped lead the most efficient attack in the conference as Stephen F. Austin ranked first in hitting percentage (.278), assists per set (13.60) and kills per set (14.33) in league play. An early childhood education major, Holland holds a 3.97 grade point average.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the 13 member universities, voted for the student-athlete of the year award. The Southland Student-Athlete of the Year is presented to the one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees must have earned at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale at the nominating institution and have demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years of athletics competition.
Southland All-Academic teams are comprised of 12 first-team selections and six second-team selections. Automatic all-academic selections include College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honorees and those who received all-conference first team honors. This year, all 12 members of the all-academic first team were automatic selections, leaving six open positions on the second team to be determined by vote.
Sam Houston State, Central Arkansas and Northwestern State each earned three total all-academic selections. Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each had two all-academic selections, while Lamar, Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana each earned one selection.
Sam Houston State senior outside hitter Deveney Wells-Gibson earned a spot on the all-academic first team for the third straight year after being named first-team all-conference. Sophomore setter Michelle Griffith, a first-team all-conference selection, was named to the all-academic first team as well, while junior middle blocker Carling Urben was named to the second team.
Central Arkansas had two first-team all-academic selections in senior Southland Libero of the Year Shelbee Berringer and sophomore outside hitter Evie Grace Singleton, both first-team all-conference selections. Senior middle blocker Alicia Dittrich earned all-academic honors for the third year as she was named to the second team.
Northwestern State senior right-side hitter Mackenzie Neely was an automatic first-team selection after earning first-team all-conference honors and being named Southland Tournament MVP, this is the third time Neely has earned all-academic honors. Sophomore libero Bailey Martin was named to the second team joining two-time all-academic honoree, senior outside hitter Stacey DiFrancesco.
Along with Holland, Stephen F. Austin senior outside hitter Jill Ivy was named to the first team for the second time. Ivy was both a Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District and first-team all-conference selection.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi right-side hitter Brianna Brink was named to the first team after claiming first-team all-conference honors, while teammate senior outside hitter Ashley Phelps was voted to the second team.
Lamar senior libero Megan Schwartz was named to the first team after being a Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, earning all-academic honors for the third consecutive year.
Abilene Christian senior middle blocker Neely Borger, Houston Baptist sophomore setter Kayla Armer and Nicholls senior libero Kalynn Egea were each automatic first-team selections following Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. Egea was also named to the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team this morning, becoming one of just 18 student-athletes to earn academic All-America status at the Division I level.
Southeastern Louisiana junior setter Mikayla Shippy was selected to the second team.
The all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland Conference university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s competition to qualify for the all-academic teams.
2014 Southland Conference Volleyball All-Academic Teams
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First Team |
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Name |
School |
Position |
Cl. |
GPA |
Major |
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Paige Holland^,&,%,1,2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Setter |
Sr. |
3.97 |
Early Childhood Education |
|
Deveney Wells-Gibson1,3 |
Sam Houston State |
Outside Hitter |
Sr. |
3.67 |
General Business |
|
Mackenzie Neely1,3 |
Northwestern State |
Right-Side Hitter |
Sr. |
3.95 |
Health & Exercise Science |
|
Megan Schwartz%,3 |
Lamar |
Libero |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Social Work and Criminal Justice |
|
Jill Ivy%,1,2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Outside Hitter |
Sr. |
3.70 |
Kinesiology |
|
Neely Borger% |
Abilene Christian |
Middle Blocker |
Sr. |
3.90 |
Marketing |
|
Shelbee Berringer1 |
Central Arkansas |
Libero |
Sr. |
3.00 |
Nutrition |
|
Evie Grace Singleton1 |
Central Arkansas |
Outside Hitter |
So. |
3.38 |
Undecided |
|
Kayla Armer% |
Houston Baptist |
Setter |
So. |
4.00 |
Psychology |
|
Kalynn Egea&,% |
Nicholls |
Libero |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
|
Michelle Griffith1 |
Sam Houston State |
Setter |
So. |
3.48 |
Food Science |
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Brianna Brink1 |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Right-Side Hitter |
Jr. |
3.28 |
Psychology |
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Second Team |
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Ashley Phelps |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
Outside Hitter |
Sr. |
3.71 |
Communication |
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Alicia Dittrich3 |
Central Arkansas |
Middle Blocker |
Sr. |
3.70 |
Health Science, Physical Therapy |
|
Bailey Martin |
Northwestern State |
Libero |
So. |
3.85 |
Biology |
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Stacey DiFrancesco2 |
Northwestern State |
Outside Hitter |
Sr. |
3.25 |
Family & Consumer Science |
|
Carling Urben |
Sam Houston State |
Middle Blocker |
Jr. |
3.98 |
Animal Science |
|
Mikayla Shippy |
Southeastern La. |
Setter |
Jr. |
3.83 |
Finance |
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^2014 Southland Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year
&CoSIDA Academic All-American
%CoSIDA Academic All-District
1First-Team All-Conference
2Two-time All-Academic selection
3Three-time All-Academic selection