Tusculum Leads Preseason All-SAC Volleyball Team

August 16, 2011

Rock Hill, S.C. -- The Tusculum College Pioneers, coming off back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament, had four players earn first team preseason All-South Atlantic Conference honors, league officials announced Tuesday. The Pioneers finished second in the conference in 2010, going 16-2 in league play. No other SAC school has more than two players on the preseason teams.

Tusculum junior middle blocker Alyssa Raterman (Urbana, Ohio) and junior outside hitter/middle blocker Sam Underwood (Muncie, Ind.) are joined by sophomore setter Ashley Sarmiento (Dayton, Ohio) and sophomore libero Caitlyn Dean (Fort Wayne, Ind.) on the first team. Raterman, Sarmiento and Dean were first-team All-SAC selections in 2010, while also earning All-Region honors. Underwood earned second-team honors last season. Sarmiento led the league with 10.39 assists per set, and was named the SAC Freshman of the Year in 2010. Dean, the nation's leader in digs per set, earned first-team All-American honors from Daktronics. Raterman averaged 2.09 kills per set, while ranking second in the league with a .350 hitting percentage. Underwood was second on the team with 2.60 kills per set in 2010, adding 2.83 digs per set.

Carson-Newman senior middle hitter Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) earns first-team preseason honors. The nation's leader in blocks per set in 2010, James earned second team All-SAC accolades in 2010, while also earning All-Region honors from the AVCA. She helped lead Carson-Newman to the NCAA regional semifinals in 2010. Catawba junior outside hitter Kaitlyn Whitmer (Ferrum, Va.) also earns preseason first-team accolades. She was a second team All-SAC selection in 2010 and was named to All-Region teams by Daktronics and the AVCA. Whitmer ranked fifth in the league with 3.15 kills per set in 2010.

Newberry sophomore outside hitter Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) earns first-team preseason all-conference accolades. A second-team all-conference selection in 2010, Parrish finished third in the league with 3.41 kills per set last year. Wingate senior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) rounds out the first team. The three-time All-SAC selection was ninth with 6.95 assists per set in 2010, helping lead Wingate to its fifth straight SAC title. The Bulldogs became the first school in SAC history to earn a trip to the Elite Eight last season.

Lincoln Memorial University had a pair of second-team preseason All-SAC selections. Sophomore outside hitter Kaitlin Walton (Muncie, Ind.) is joined by senior outside hitter Candace Richardson (Houston, Texas). Walton was a second-team All-SAC selection in 2010, while also earning All-SAC freshman honors. She was ninth in the SAC with 2.92 kills per set last season. Richardson averaged 1.99 kills and 2.13 digs per set in 2010.

Mars Hill College also had a pair of representatives on the second team. Senior outside hitter Evie Tafunai (Edwardsburg, Mich.) joins sophomore libero Maggie Murphy (Richmond, Va.). Tafunai was seventh in the SAC with 3.08 kills per set in 2010, while Murphy finished second in the conference with 6.38 digs per set. Murphy was a second-team All-SAC selection in 2010. Brevard College senior outside hitter Jordei Osby (Goldsboro, N.C.) earns second team-honors in the preseason. She was second in the SAC with 1.03 blocks per set in 2010, to go along with 1.60 kills per set.

Catawba senior outside hitter Shay Meeks (Kings Mountain, N.C.) is a second-team preseason all-conference selection. She finished 10th in the league with 2.92 kills per set in 2010. Carson-Newman senior outside hitter Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) is also a second-team selection. She averaged 2.36 kills and 0.74 blocks per set last season. Wingate sophomore outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) rounds out the second team. The All-SAC Freshman team selection in 2010 was eighth in the league with 2.96 kills per set last season, while also collecting 2.95 digs per set.

- Hugh Patton, Wingate Media Relations

2011 Volleyball Preseason All-SAC Team

First Team
Nikki James, Carson-Newman
Kaitlyn Whitmer, Catawba
Samantha Parrish, Newberry
Caitlyn Dean, Tusculum (Libero)
Alyssa Raterman, Tusculum
Ashley Sarmiento, Tusculum
Samantha Underwood, Tusculum
Liz Willis, Wingate

Second Team
Jordei Osby, Brevard
Carly Swisher, Carson-Newman
Shay Meeks, Catawba
Candace Richardson, Lincoln Memorial
Kaitlin Walton, Lincoln Memorial
Maggie Murphy, Mars Hill (Libero)
Evie Tafunai, Mars Hill
Cory McGowan, Wingate