Brittany Gilpin Named Southland Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year
Southland Conference
FRISCO, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s offensive force garnered more accolades this season as junior outside hitter Brittany Gilpin was named the 2016 Southland Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Thursday in conjunction with All-Academic honorees.
Gilpin shifted from middle blocker to outside hitter for the 2016 season and became the spearhead of a powerful Islander front line that led the league in hitting percentage (.291) and kills per set (14.84). Five of the top ten hitters in the conference regular season were Islanders.
Gilpin ranked ninth in conference matches in hitting percentage (.326) but was the Islanders’ go-to by a long shot, tallying a league-high 491 total attack attempts. She registered 205 total kills with 3.73 per set. Gilpin was named Southland Player of the Year, First Team All-Conference and Tournament Most Valuable Player this season while setting career bests in kills and digs.
Off the court, the Houston, Texas native holds a 3.41 grade point average with a major in psychology.
Sam Houston State led the way with four All-Academic selections, including the First Team All-Conference pair of junior outside hitters Brooke White and Jordyn Vaughn. Vaughn and White ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in kills per set in conference matches this season (3.33, 3.30) to lead the league’s second-best offense. The Bearkats ranked number two in hitting percentage (.219) and kills per set (13.89, 847 total). White holds a 3.26 with her general business major while Vaughn holds a 3.59 in accounting.
Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Cunningham also earned first team All-Academic honors for the Bearkats with a 3.80 GPA, majoring in accounting. Senior setter Michelle Griffith – the Southland leader in assists per set (11.03) – earned Second Team distinction with a 3.69 GPA studying food science and nutrition.
A Houston Baptist trio earned All-Academic honors, including senior setter Kayla Armer, a three-time selection. Joining Armer on First Team is junior outside hitter Bailey Banks and junior middle blocker Blair Gillard on Second Team.
Central Arkansas, Northwestern State and Stephen F. Austin all earned two All-Academic selections in 2016.
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. The Southland student-athlete of the year award is presented to the one student-athlete who achieves excellence in both academics and athletics. All nominees shall have earned at least a 3.2 GPA on a 4.0 scale, and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
The All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors 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 squad.
2016 Southland Volleyball All-Academic Teams
Student-Athlete of the Year: Brittany Gilpin, Jr., OH, A&M-Corpus Christi
First Team
| Name |
School |
Position |
Class |
GPA |
Major |
| Megan Nash*2 |
Central Arkansas |
MB |
Jr. |
3.95 |
Exercise Science |
| Kayla Armer*3 |
Houston Baptist |
S |
Sr. |
3.35 |
Psychology |
| Bailey Banks* |
Houston Baptist |
OH |
Jr. |
3.43 |
Marketing |
| Autumn Lockley* |
UIW |
OH |
So. |
3.35 |
Biology |
| Brooke White* |
Sam Houston State |
OH |
Jr. |
3.26 |
General Business |
| Jordyn Vaughn*2 |
Sam Houston State |
OH |
Jr. |
3.59 |
Accounting |
| Brittany Gilpin*2 |
A&M-Corpus Christi |
OH |
Jr. |
3.41 |
Psychology |
| Jacey Smith |
Abilene Christian |
OH |
So. |
4.00 |
Kinesiology |
| Kaci Eaton |
Nicholls |
OH |
Sr. |
4.00 |
M.Ed – Clinical Health Counseling |
| Samantha Anderson |
Central Arkansas |
RS |
So. |
3.90 |
Undecided |
| Taylor Cunningham |
Sam Houston State |
MB |
So. |
3.80 |
Accounting |
| Lexus Cain |
Stephen F. Austin |
L |
Jr. |
3.00 |
Information Technology |
Second Team
| Name |
School |
Position |
Class |
GPA |
Major |
| Natalie Jaeger2 |
Northwestern State |
S |
Sr. |
3.88 |
Mass Communication |
| Channing Burleson |
Northwestern State |
L |
So. |
3.69 |
Nursing |
| Blair Gillard |
Houston Baptist |
MB |
Jr. |
3.00 |
Management |
| Bridget Justis |
McNeese |
L |
Sr. |
3.36 |
Health Education |
| Michelle Griffith2 |
Sam Houston State |
S |
Sr. |
3.69 |
Food Science & Nutrition |
| Haley Coleman |
Stephen F. Austin |
OH |
So. |
3.92 |
Kinesiology |
Automatic Selections:
* 2016 First Team All-Southland
---
1 Student-Athlete of the Year
2 Two-time all-academic selection
3 Three-time all-academic selection