NSU’s Brister Crowned 2019 Southland Volleyball Player of the Year

11/20/2019 11:00:00 AM

2019 Southland Volleyball Tournament Central

FRISCO, Texas – Northwestern State’s Hannah Brister was crowned the 2019 Southland Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, the league announced Wednesday. Along with Brister’s honor, the 2019 all-conference rosters were announced with nine schools represented among the three squads. Southland individual awards and all-conference honors are presented by Come Ready Nutrition.

Stephen F. Austin leads the way with five selections, followed by Central Arkansas, Sam Houston State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with three honorees apiece. Northwestern State and New Orleans each put forth two selections, while Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist and Southeastern Louisiana garnered one spot each.

Brister’s Player of the Year accolade comes on the shoulders of a red-hot season where she pushed the Lady Demons to a 19-11 overall record and an 11-5 mark in conference play. The junior from Paincourtville, La., claimed Southland Offensive Player of the Week five times throughout the 2019 season and led the league with 478 kills in regular-season play. She shattered Northwestern State’s single-season kills mark, previously set at 443 by Christina Stone in the 2002 season. Her efforts pushed the Lady Demons to a No. 3 seed at the Southland Conference Tournament.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Madison Green was named the Setter of the Year after leading the Islanders to an 11-5 record in Southland action. Green has consistently brought life to the Islanders’ squad and currently ranks third in the nation with six triple-double performances. The senior setter enters the Southland Tournament averaging 7.67 assists per match and has dealt a team-leading 851 assists on the season.

Joining Green among the individual award winners is teammate Carissa Barnes who was named Freshman of the Year. Barnes stands atop the Islanders’ roster with 569 digs and 48 service aces while also ranking among the Southland’s top-three individuals in each category.

Sam Houston State’s Addison Miller claimed Libero of the Year honors after leading the Bearkats to a No. 2 seed at the conference tournament following a 12-4 finish in Southland play. Miller ranks 16th nationally and first in the conference with 575 digs on the season while averaging 5.04 digs per set. The senior has racked up 1,441 digs throughout her career with the Kats and will look to add to her total in Friday’s opening-round tournament match against No. 7-seeded Southeastern Louisiana.

Newcomer of the Year honors belong to Stephen F. Austin’s Taya Mitchell who wrapped up her first season of conference play with the Ladyjacks. Mitchell, a junior transfer from Tyler Junior College, leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation for blocks per set (1.52) and total blocks (152). Her presence at the net limited SFA opponents to a paltry .139 hitting percentage, a feat that places the Ladyjacks sixth in the nation.

SFA head coach Debbie Humphreys was awarded her third-consecutive Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year honor after leading her squad to a 28-1 overall mark and a flawless 16-0 record in conference play. The Ladyjacks dropped just 15 sets all season and cruised through their conference slate with 12 sweeps. Earlier in the season, Humphreys captured her 700th career victory in a three-set win over Austin Peay (Sept. 6). She has since added 22 wins and extended her career-wins mark to 722 heading into post season play, making her the Southland all-time leader for total victories. The award marks the eighth of Humphreys’ career.

All individual superlative winners and all-conference honorees will be recognized before first-round matchups at the 2019 Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament in Conway, Ark., taking place Nov. 22-24.

Player of the Year: Hannah Brister, Northwestern State
Freshman of the Year: Carissa Barnes, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Newcomer of the Year: Taya Mitchell, Stephen F. Austin
Libero of the Year: Addison Miller, Sam Houston State
Setter of the Year: Madison Green, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Coach of the Year: Debbie Humphreys, Stephen F. Austin

All-Conference First Team

Name	Cl.	Pos.	School	Hometown
Hannah Brister²	Jr.	OH	Northwestern State	Paincourtville, La.
Ashley Lewis	Jr.	OH/RS	Sam Houston State	Houston, Texas
Addison Miller	Sr.	L	Sam Houston State	Prosper, Texas
Jodi Edo	Sr.	MB	Southeastern Louisiana	Baton Rouge, La.
Corin Evans	Sr.	OH	Stephen F. Austin	Katy, Texas
Ann Hollas²	Sr.	S	Stephen F. Austin	Longview, Texas
Madison Green²	Sr.	S/OH	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Dripping Springs, Texas

All-Conference Second Team

Name	Cl.	Pos.	School	Hometown
Madison Bowles	So.	RS	Central Arkansas	Strafford, Mo.
Abbie Harry	Sr.	OH	Central Arkansas	Frederick, Md.
Mikayla Vivens²	Jr.	OH	Houston Baptist	San Antonio, Texas
Ehize Omoghibo	Sr.	OH	New Orleans	Evanston, Ill.
Maddie Miller	Jr.	DS	Stephen F. Austin	Lorena, Texas
Danae Daron³	Sr.	MB	Stephen F. Austin	Crosby, Texas
Carissa Barnes	Fr.	L	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Weatherford, Texas

All-Conference Third Team

Name	Cl.	Pos.	School	Hometown
Marybeth Sandercox	Sr.	RS	Abilene Christian	Lubbock, Texas
Emily Doss	Jr.	DS/L	Central Arkansas	Springdale, Ark.
Lucie Pokorna	Fr.	S/OH	New Orleans	Kladno, Czech Republic
Alexis Warren	Sr.	OH	Northwestern State	Cypress, Texas
Breanne Chausse	So.	RS	Sam Houston State	Coppell, Texas
Taya Mitchell	Jr.	MB	Stephen F. Austin	Rowlett, Texas
Rachel Young	So.	MB	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Frisco, Texas

²– Two-Time Selection
³– Three-Time Selection

The Southland Conference Volleyball All-Conference Teams are nominated and voted upon by the league’s head coaches and SIDs. Each team consists of six players and one libero.