SCAC Announces All-Conference Volleyball Team

SCAC Announces All-Conference Volleyball Team

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.

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