LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – In exclusive
all-conference voting by the head coaches of the Southern
Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), Maggie Emodi of Trinity
University was selected SCAC Player-of-the-Year while her head
coach, Julie Jenkins, was named SCAC Coach-of-the-Year. Complete Release
In the same balloting, Megan Lee of Texas Lutheran University was
selected the SCAC Backrow Player-of-the-Year, and Abbe Holtze of
Colorado College was named SCAC Freshman-of-the-Year.
Emodi, a junior outside hitter from Omaha, Neb., has played a huge
role for the Tigers as a six-rotation outside and captain –
leading Trinity to its first 30+ win season since 2009. Heading
into this weekend’s conference tournament, Emodi is second in
the SCAC in kills (407), third in kills per set (3.13), seventh in
digs (474), and eighth in hitting percentage (.248). She has
achieved 18 double-doubles (kills-digs) for the 2013 season so far,
adding a season high of six blocks in a single match. Emodi was
also named All-Tournament at Trinity's Fall Classic and SCAC
Offensive Player of the Week twice (Week 8, Week 10). An AVCA
All-South Region and honorable mention All-America honoree as a
freshman, Emodi’s selection as SCAC Player-of-the-Year
represents the 14th time a Trinity player has earned the
league’s highest honor and the first since 2006 when Sara
Buros was so honored.
In a league stacked with talent, six different players received
votes for Player-of-the-Year. Trinity’s Erin Cusenbary, who
was selected on three ballots, was the only player to earn more
than one first-place vote in the weighted-vote process. Emodi,
Austin College’s Shelby Eaves, Colorado College’s Devon
Lucero and Abby Holtze and Southwestern University’s Chandler
Lentz were all selected atop one ballot.
Lee, a junior libero from Universal City, Texas, was selected the
league’s Backrow Player-of-the-Year after finishing the
regular season with 593 digs (third in the SCAC) and a
league-leading 6.18 digs per set. She is currently third in the
nation in digs per set, the same position she held nationally at
the completion of the 2012 season when she was a second team
All-American Southwest Conference selection. The backbone to the
Texas Lutheran squad, Lee was the MVP of the 2013 Bulldog Classic
and a two-time SCAC Defensive Player-of-the-Week selection (Week 7,
Week 10) during the regular season. As Texas Lutheran is in its
inaugural year as a member of the conference, Lee is the first
student-athlete from TLU to receive a SCAC Player-of-the-Year
award.
Lee received four votes from the coaches in earning the Backrow
Player-of-the-Year award. Sophie Merrifield of Colorado College and
Chandler Lentz of Southwestern received two votes each.
Holtze, a first-year outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, Calif.,
led Colorado College during the regular season in total points at
350.0, averaging 3.8 per set. She is currently fifth in the SCAC in
total kills (306), second in kills per set (3.33) and ninth in
hitting percentage (.243). She had 11 matches with double-digit
kills and digs, and her 15 service aces during conference
competition were the fifth-highest total in the SCAC. A primary
passer and strong attacker out of the back row, Holtze was named
SCAC Offensive Player-of-the-Week (Week 3), MVP of the CC Classic
and an all-tournament selection at the CC Invite. Holtze is the
second consecutive Colorado College player to earn
Freshman-of-the-Year honors as current teammate Emily Phillips won
the award a year ago.
Holtze received four votes from the coaches for the
Freshman-of-the-Year award, followed closely by Erika Edrington of
Trinity who received three votes. Nikki Welch of Southwestern
received the remaining first-place vote.
Coach Julie Jenkins has guided Trinity to a 31-6 overall record
this season, a 13-1 mark in the SCAC, and a No. 14 national ranking
in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll. In her 30th year has a head coach
(29th at Trinity), Jenkins is the second-winningest active coach in
all of Division III and is nearing 800 career wins heading into
this weekend’s conference tournament. The 1999 AVCA Division
III National Coach-of-the-Year, she is the fifth winningest coach
in the history of Division III women’s volleyball. This is
the 11th time that Jenkins has been recognized as SCAC Volleyball
Coach-of-the-Year, making her one of only four coaches in
conference history to earn 10+ COTY honors in a single sport.
Jenkins received five votes from her peers in the
Coach-of-the-Year voting, while Colorado College’s Rick Swan
received the remaining three votes.
Those selected to the 2013 All-Conference volleyball team will be
formally recognized Friday evening at the SCAC Volleyball
Tournament.
To view the entire 2013 All-SCAC Volleyball Team, click here.