Colorado College and Trinity Place Two Each on AVCA All-Region First Team

Colorado College and Trinity Place Two Each on AVCA All-Region First Team

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) released the All-Region awards Thursday and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference had seven total players earn the recognition, including four who earned First Team honors. Complete AVCA Release

Colorado Colege had four student-athletes recognized and Trinity University had three honorees on the All-West Region squad.

Colorado College's Lizzy Counts and Georgia Mullins and Trinity's Emily Ellis and Avery Tuggle each received first-team nods.

Allie Freeburg and Jordan Mullen of Colorado College and Annie Rose Leggett of Trinity each earned an honorable mention nod.

Counts, a senior setter from Oakland, Calif., was named to the team for the third consecutive year. A three-time All-SCAC First Team selection, The 2017 SCAC Player of the Year, Counts led the Tigers to a .268 team hitting percentage which ranked first in the conference and fourth nationally. Counts currently leads the SCAC averaging 9.03 assists per set and this past week became the second player in program history to record 4,000 or more in her career. The two-time All-American also ranks among the team leaders with 230 digs, 37 total blocks and 24 aces.

Mullins, a sophomore middle blocker from Olathe, Kansas, earned all-SCAC First Team honors in her first season as a starter. She currently ranks third in the conference with a .346 hitting percentage and 10th averaging 2.68 kills per set. She also leads the Tigers with 292 kills and 374.5 points, and is sixth with 23 aces. On the defensive side of the net, Mullins has a team-high 104 total blocks (fourth in the SCAC) and averages 0.95 blocks per set (third in the SCAC), helping the Tigers rank first in the conference and ninth nationally with a .101 opponent hitting percentage.

Ellis, a sophomore middle blocker from Geogetown, Texas, earned her first All-SCAC First Team nod after earning Second Team honors a year ago. A two-time SCAC Player of the Week during the 2019 season, also earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III National Player of the Week honors when she posted 20 blocks and 32 kills to go with a .359 hitting percentage in leading the Tigers to victories over Cal Lutheran and then sixth-ranked Juniata. Ellis leads the conference in hitting percentage (.407), total blocks (128), and blocks per set (1.05).

Tuggle, a senior outside hitter from Cedar Creek, Texas, and the 2019 SCAC Player-of-the-Year, leads the SCAC in points (491) and kills (418) and is in the top five in kills per set (3.17 – second) and points per set (3.7 – third). A three‐time SCAC Offensive Player‐of‐the‐Week selection (Week 1, Week 4 and Week 9), the versatile Tuggle is also ranked in the top 20 in the conference in service aces (41 – tied for 11th), digs (433 – 12th), blocks (56 – 20th) and hitting percentage (.242 – 15th). She has 18 double‐double performances over the course of the season, including a streak of five straight matches from Sept. 14 to Sept. 25 where she posted double‐ figure outputs for both kills and digs.

Freeburg, a junior outside hitter from Montrose, Colo., earned Honorable Mention All-West Region recognition and is currently sixth in the SCAC in kills per set (2.92) and second on her team with 266 kills. She has also posted 321 points (2nd on the team), 46 total blocks (third on the team) and 30 service aces (third on the team). 

Mullen, a junior outside hitter from Parker, Colo., made her debut on the All-SCAC First Team this year after earning Second Team accolades as a sophomore in 2017. The Honorable Mention All-West Region selection currently leads the SCAC averaging 0.46 aces and ranks third at 3.06 kills per set. She also is 20th with a .226 hitting percentage, and ranks third on the team with 291.5 points and 239 kills and second with 36 total aces.

Leggett, a junior outside hitter from Austin, Texas, was a first-time all-conference honoree, and was named the SCAC Player of the Week three times this season. She is currently third in the conference in service aces, firing in 52 over the course of the season. Additionally, she is eighth in points (420.5), kills (341), and total digs (500).