ATLANTA, Ga. – The 12th-ranked
Southwestern University Pirates, winners of 28 straight matches and
the top seed for this weekend’s Southern Collegiate Athletic
Conference Volleyball Tournament, was rewarded for its highly
successful season by winning three of the league’s four major
postseason awards in exclusive all-conference voting by the head
coaches of the SCAC.
Audra Gentry was named the SCAC Player-of-the-Year for the second
consecutive year while teammate Samantha Lingamfelter was named the
league’s Backrow Player-of-the-Year. She also earned Backrow
Player-of-the-Year in 2007 and 2008. Southwestern head coach Hannah
Long was also tabbed as the SCAC Coach-of-the-Year for the second
straight season.
In the same balloting, Millsaps College first-year player Raven
Scott was selected as the league’s Freshman-of-the-Year.
Gentry, a senior outside hitter from Albuquerque, N.M., led the
team and the conference in kills per set (3.81) while finishing
second on the team in digs per set (3.31). Gentry’s 358 kills
also led the team. A team captain, Gentry posted 27 total blocks
and 12 service aces in leading Southwestern to a league-best 15-0
conference mark; 30-3 record overall. She is the third different
Southwestern player and program’s fourth overall SCAC
Player-of-the-Year. A Third Team All-America selection last season,
Gentry is the first player to earn SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors
in back-to-back seasons since Trinity University’s Amy
Barrett did so in 1995 and 1996.
Five different players received votes for Player-of-the-Year, led
by Gentry who was tabbed on five of the coaches’ ballots.
Emily Perkins of Colorado College and Christina Nicholls of
Southwestern received two votes each while Jessi Fleming of Austin
College and Lindsay Thompson of Southwestern received one vote
each.
Lingamfelter, a senior libero from New Braunfels, Texas, was
selected as the league’s Backrow Player-of-the-Year for the
third consecutive season - becoming the first player to win three
consecutive Backrow Player-of-the-Year honors since the award was
instituted in 2004. She tallied 653 digs and led the league in digs
per set with 5.68 during the regular season. An Honorable Mention
All-America selection last season, Lingamfelter is the
league’s all-time career leader in total digs and has 2,758
heading into this weekend’s conference tournament.
Lingamfelter received eight votes from the coaches in earning the
Backrow Player-of-the-Year award, beating out Laura Broughton of
Centre College, Kim Larson of Hendrix College and Kylee Lehrman of
DePauw who all received one vote.
Scott, a first-year right side from Boutte, La., led the Majors
with 38 solo blocks while finishing with a .205 hitting percentage
and finished fourth on the team with 194 kills. Her 0.89 blocks per
set ranked second on the team and helped the Majors to a
fourth-place national rank in the category during the regular
season. Scott is the first player from Millsaps to earn the
league’s Freshman-of-the-Year award.
Scott just edged out DePauw University’s Katie Petrovich for
the award. Scott received five votes in earning FOTY honors, just
one more than Petrovich. Nita Kavouspour of Austin College received
the remaining two votes.
Head Coach Hannah Long led Southwestern to a 15-0 conference
mark; 30-3 overall record (the team’s fifth-straight 30+ win
season), and a first-place finish during the 2009 SCAC regular
season. The Pirates entered the post-season on a 28-match win
streak. In her six seasons in Georgetown, Long has compiled a
188-44 overall record and an 82-16 record in SCAC play. The SCAC
Coach-of-the-Year in 2005 and 2008, she is the first Southwestern
coach to earn the honor three times. Last year, Long led the
Pirates to an overall record of 36-5 (14-1 SCAC) while receiving an
at-large bid and a fourth straight appearance to the NCAA Division
III championship tournament where the Pirates advanced to the South
Regional finals.
Long received seven votes from her peers in the COTY voting. Deb
Zellers of DePauw picked up three votes while Rick Swan of Colorado
College received one vote.
For the complete 2009 All-SCAC Women's Volleyball release, click,
here.
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