2020-21 Volleyball All-Conference Team
HILLSDALE, Mich. - Postseason honors for the spring season were announced as the 2020-21 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball All-Conference Team was released Thursday afternoon.
The all-conference teams are comprised of 36 total student-athletes voted upon by the coaches with two outside hitters, two middle blockers, one setter and one libero/defensive specialist, followed by a combination of the highest votes getters regardless of position.
The 2020-21 Great Midwest All-Conference Volleyball Team celebrates the culmination of a competed regular season following the fall delay into spring. The all-conference team was released on Thursday prior to the tournament final four, replacing the typical championship banquet that would usually be conducted at the host site.
Teams were able to successfully complete a single round robin conference schedule and with quarterfinals of the postseason played out on Tuesday, the conference is looking forward to crowning a champion on Saturday.
Despite a shortened schedule, the conference has been recognized at the national level with as many as five teams appearing in the AVCA Top 25 Poll. In addition, Hillsdale held top position at No. 1 for two weeks.
When looking at the first-team, Hillsdale paced all teams with four selections, including repeat first-team selects Karoline Shelton and Allyssa Van Wienen from 2019. Defensively, the Chargers haven’t skipped a beat from Taylor Wiese with the addition of Alli Wiese on the first team. The future is bright for Hillsdale, as freshman Maize Brown also grabbed the attention of the coaches.
Cedarville packs a punch on its front line with the duo of Liene Miller and Lauren Willow, two of the highest vote getters on the ballot. Likewise, Walsh was in the hunt for a regular season title with a trio of standouts as setter Olivia Kearns, middle blocker Grace Lindquist, and outside hitter Olivia Maczuzak were all first-team honorees. Also playing a major role in advancing their teams to the playoffs, were underclassman Austyn Baldwin of Trevecca and Hannah Warrington of Findlay. Both were offensive players of the week during the spring season.
Playoff teams were also represented well on the second team, with all 12 individuals coming from postseason qualifying programs. Findlay, Tiffin and Walsh each had three individuals represented on the second team. Malone’s efforts for the season were recognized with outside hitter Anna Mallette and middle blocker Brooklyn Sullivan being named to the third team.
The regular season champs and No. 1 seed in the tournament, Hillsdale, received its fair share of individual recognition, as junior outside hitter Karoline Shelton was named Player of the Year and Head Coach Chris Gravel earned Co-Coach of the Year honors.
Gravel is in his 25th season at the helm of program with over 500 career wins. Since entering the Great Midwest in 2017-18, Gravel has received Coach of the Year honors each season. This season, he led his team to an undefeated conference record (11-0) and an overall record of 14-1, to go along with yet another regular season title for the Chargers.
Shelton has played a large role in the Chargers success this season, as she leads the team in kills with 3.66 per set, which ranks fourth among league competitors. She has a hitting percentage of .299 and averages 4.2 points per set. She also averages 3.51 digs per set.
Sharing Coach of the Year honors with Gravel, is first-year Ohio Dominican Head Coach, Amy Bambenek, who led the Panthers to a 7-4 finish and an appearance in the championship tournament bracket as the No. 5 seed. Bambenek turned around a program that finished last in the conference in 2019 at 2-10. This is the first time since ODU joined the Great Midwest that the Panthers have qualified for the postseason tournament.
Rounding out the individual award winners is Findlay’s Hannah Warrington. The outside hitter was named Freshman of the Year after leading the Oilers in kills with 3.20 per set, ranking sixth in the league in that category. The freshman ranks fifth in the conference in service aces with 17 on the season (.38 per set).
The final honor was the Great Midwest Elite 23 Award, presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on a championship-qualifying program. The inaugural offering was handed in person on Thursday to Cedarville sophomore libero/defensive specialist Mallory Delamarter (Danville, Ind.), who has a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in Accounting.