2008 Volleyball All-Conference Teams And Award Winners Announced

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Catawba College's Melissa Powers, who helped lead the Indians to a second-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference standings, swept the league's top volleyball awards, the conference office announced Thursday during the quarterfinals of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament.

Powers, who led the conference in kills per game, was named Player of the Year. Powers, a senior with a 3.591 GPA, also was received the Volleyball Scholar-Athlete Award.

Wingate University coach Shelton Collier, who guided the Bulldogs to an undefeated conference record and the conference championship for the second consecutive year, was named Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.

Melissa Powers

Liz Willis

Shelton Collier

Wingate's Liz Willis, who finished second in the league in assists, was named the Freshman of the Year.

Wingate led the way with four selections to the All-Conference Team. Stormi Gale and Maggie Malone at the Libero position were named to the first team, while Willis and Lauren Billo were named to the second team.

Carson-Newman College had three All-Conference selections. Katie Troyer was named to the first team, while Kelsey Fleck and Carly Mozgai were named to the second team.

Joining Powers on the All-Conference first team from Catawba is Melissa Griffith.

Newberry College had a pair of All-Conference selections in Priscilla Sales, who was named to the first team, and Lorena Maia. Maia led the conference in service aces per game for the third year in a row.

Lincoln Memorial University's Amanda Horenkamp was named to the first team, while LMU's Alicia MacIntyre was named to the second team at the Libero position. MacIntyre led the conference in digs per game.

Tusculum's Katie Luebke was named to the All-Conference first team.

Lenoir-Rhyne University had one selection to the All-Conference team as Katie Novacek was named to the second team.

Brevard College's Brooke Seaman, who led the conference in hitting percentage and blocks per game, was named to the All-Conference second team.

Joining Willis on the All-Freshman team are: Shay Meeks from Catawba; Evie Tafunai from Mars Hill; Carly Swisher and Peyton Colclough from Tusculum and Maggie Malone from Wingate. Colclough led the conference in assists per game

The All-Conference Team is selected by the league's head coaches.

Powers has been a four-year starter for Catawba and a three-time All-SAC selection.

She was an honorable mention AVCA All-South selection in 2007 and was twice named national Player of the Week during her career. She holds the Catawba record for kills in a game, season and career.

In the classroom, Powers is an Elementary Education major with a 3.591 GPA. She has been named to the Dean's List five times, the President's List two times and is a member of Kappa Delta Phi education honor society. She was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team in 2007.

Powers is also active on campus and in the community. She is president of the Catawba Student-Athlete Advisory Council. She also volunteers with Rowan County Arc, helping to plan activities for developmentally disabled adults and volunteers with Special Olympics. She is a Bible School Teacher at her church and is a volunteer head coach of a junior Olympic volleyball team.

The Food Lion South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament began Thursday at Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, N.C. The Semifinals are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday, with the championship set for 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

2008 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS AND AWARD RECIPIENTS

ALL-SAC FIRST TEAM
Katie Troyer, Carson-Newman
Melissa Powers, Catawba
Melissa Griffith, Catawba
Amanda Horenkamp, Lincoln Memorial
Priscila Sales, Newberry
Katie Luebke, Tusculum
Stormi Gale, Wingate
Maggie Malone, Wingate (Libero)

ALL-SAC SECOND TEAM
Brooke Seaman, Brevard
Kelsey Fleck, Carson-Newman
Carly Mozgai, Carson-Newman
Katie Novacek, Lenoir-Rhyne
Alicia MacIntyre, Lincoln Memorial (Libero)
Lorena Maia, Newberry
Lauren Billo, Wingate
Liz Willis, Wingate

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Shay Meeks, Catawba
Evie Tafunai, Mars Hill
Carly Swisher, Tusculum
Peyton Colclough, Tusculum
Maggie Malone, Wingate
Liz Willis, Wingate

COACH OF THE YEAR: Shelton Collier, Wingate
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Liz Willis, Wingate
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Melissa Powers, Catawba
SAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Melissa Powers, Catawba

STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS
(through games of November 8)
Brooke Seaman, Brevard College - Hitting Percentage and Blocks Per Game
Melissa Powers, Catawba College - Kills Per Game
Peyton Colclough, Tusculum College - Assists Per Game
Lorena Maia, Newberry College - Service Aces Per Game
Alicia MacIntyre, Lincoln Memorial University - Digs Per Game
Carson-Newman College - Team Hitting Percentage
Wingate University - Team Assists Per Game; Team Kills Per Game; Opponent Hitting Percentage; and Team Winning Percentage
Newberry College - Team Service Aces Per Game
Tusculum College - Team Blocks Per Game
Lincoln Memorial University - Digs Per Game

SENIOR AWARDS
Jami Perry, Brevard
Allyson Cohrn, Carson Newman
Kelsey Fleck, Carson Newman
Salem Stepp, Carson Newman
Haley Bush, Carson Newman
Vanessa Kinsler, Carson Newman
Tiffany Andrassy, Catawba
Kalin Collier, Catawba
Melissa Griffith, Catawba
Melissa Powers, Catawba
Katie Novacek, Lenoir-Rhyne
Abby Smith, Lenoir-Rhyne
Cami Lefeld, Lincoln Memorial University
Jaclyn Dvorscak, Lincoln Memorial University
Caitlin Hankins, Lincoln Memorial University
Jessica Britt, Mars Hill
Lindsay Phillips, Mars Hill
Brittany Enloe, Mars Hill
JoAnna Riddle, Mars Hill
Priscila Sales, Newberry
Kelsey Hayden, Tusculum
Heather MacArthur, Tusculum
Brittney Oblinger, Tusculum
Ashley Craven, Wingate
Kathryn Reddick, Wingate

Melissa Powers from Catawba College receives the Player of the Year Award from Commissioner Patrick Britz.

Melissa Powers from Catawba College receives the SAC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete Award from Commissioner Patrick Britz.

Liz Willis from Wingate University receives the Freshman of the Year Award from Commissioner Patrick Britz.

Shelton Collier from Wingate University receives the Coach of the Year Award from Commissioner Patrick Britz.

Members of the Volleyball All-Conference First Team.

Members of the Volleyball All-Conference Second Team.

Members of the Volleyball All-Freshman Team.

2008 Volleyball Players of the Week.

2008 Volleyball Statistical Champions.

2008 Volleyball Seniors.