GREENWOOD, Ind. – The annual All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Team was unveiled right before the start of the league’s postseason tournament on Thursday with a total of 20 student-athletes being honored.
The G-MAC Championship quarterfinals are scheduled for 5 and 7:30 p.m. starts in Cedarville’s Callan Athletic Center this evening while semifinal action is set for 4 and 6:30 p.m. start times.
The championship match will play out on Saturday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.
Following a vote among the league’s coaches, the first team, second team and all-freshman team, was included in this year’s all-conference list.
A few familiar faces highlighted the first-team selections, including repeat picks Summer Alford (Kentucky Wesleyan), Katelyn Atkinson (Trevecca) and Hannah Wagner (Cedarville).
Ohio Valley received both prestigious G-MAC Player of the Year (Alyx Henry) and G-MAC Coach of the Year (Paul Jacoby) awards following the strength of a near-unprecedented regular season assembled by the Fighting Scots.
Jacoby has been a staple at the helm of the Ohio Valley program for two decades and is approaching the 200-win coaching milestone in his career (currently at 197). His second season leading OVU back in 1995 resulted in 23 wins, a mark that this year’s team matched and could eclipse.
Henry’s development flourished and was elevated to the next level under the tutelage of Jacoby, who led his squad to a 23-9 record that resulted in the No. 2 seed of the G-MAC Championship.
The sophomore outside hitter Henry, a two-time G-MAC Athlete of the Week this fall, finished second among the league’s leaders in total kills (421) and kills per set (3.66) and was tops in service aces (59) and total points (493).
OVU had a total of four student-athletes on the all-conference team followed by Ursuline and regular-season champion Cedarville both with three selections, including the G-MAC Freshman of the Year, Lady Jackets’ middle blocker Krissy Pratt.
Pratt played in all possible 31 matches for Cedarville as the program went 10-1 in the G-MAC. She is the latest in a wave of standout frontline hitters to make their way through the program and averaged over a kill and nearly two digs per set.
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: All-Conference First Team
EMILY ADKINSON – Ursuline College – Middle Blocker – Sophomore
SUMMER ALFORD – Kentucky Wesleyan College – Outside Hitter – Senior
KATELYN ATKINSON – Trevecca University – Outside Hitter – Sophomore
ALYX HENRY – Ohio Valley University – Outside Hitter – Sophomore
MOLLY HILFINGER – Ursuline College – Setter – Senior
TORI THOMPSON – Cedarville University – Middle Blocker – Junior
HANNAH WAGNER – Cedarville University – Outside Hitter – Senior
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: All-Conference Second Team
MEGAN CHRISTMANN – Alderson Broaddus University – Middle Blocker – Sophomore
ABBIE FABO – Ursuline College – Outside Hitter – Junior
KAYLA GODWIN – Davis & Elkins College – Middle Blocker – Freshman
MADDIE LEDBETTER – Cedarville University – Setter – Senior
VICTORIA MORGAN – Alderson Broaddus University – Middle Hitter – Senior
JESSICA SIMPSON – Ohio Valley University – Setter – Senior
IMANI WARD – Ohio Valley University – Middle Blocker – Sophomore
AMANDA WEATHERWAX – Ohio Valley University – Outside Hitter – Junior
Great Midwest Athletic Conference: All-Freshman Team
LAUREN DAUDELIN – Alderson Broaddus University – Middle Blocker – Freshman
KAYLA GODWIN – Davis & Elkins College – Middle Blocker – Freshman
RACHEL HESS – Salem International University – Outside Hitter – Freshman
KRISSY PRATT – Cedarville University – Middle Blocker – Freshman
SARAH SWENSON – Kentucky Wesleyan College – Defensive Specialist – Freshman