The South Atlantic Conference Announces Top Volleyball Honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSac.com) – Anderson middle blocker Hailey Pittman was voted the 2014 South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, while Lenoir-Rhyne's Brooke Redmon was voted the Conference's Freshman of the Year.  In addition, Wingate mentor Shelton Collier was tabbed the Coach of the Year, the League announced today.

Pittman, a senior from Altamonte Springs, Fla., became Anderson's first-ever South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year after finishing the season ranked No. 1 in the nation with a .416 attack percentage.  She ranks No. 1in the League with 3.63 kills per set, while her 385 total kills is also good for tops in the Conference.  Pittman is currently No. 4 in the SAC with 101 total blocks on the year and is fifth in the League with 0.95 blocks per set. Pittman is averaging 4.33 points per set to rank second in the South Atlantic Conference.  She posted 19 matches with double-digit kills on the season, including four matches with 20-plus kills.  At Coker on Oct. 25, Pittman found the floor for a season-high 28 kills.

Redmond, a middle blocker from Statesville, N.C., finished the regular-season ranked in the top 10 in the League in five categories to become Lenoir-Rhyne's First Freshman of the Year since 2004.  She is currently No. 9 in the League with 2.88 kills per set and 3.44 points per set. She also turned in 300 total kills during the 2014 campaign to rank 10^th in the South Atlantic Conference.  Redmond posted 961 attacks on the season to rank No. 7 in the Conference, while her 9.24 attacks per set was good for No. 5.  She posted 17 double-figure kill matches, including a career-best 21 kills at Mars Hill on Oct. 3.

Collier has had his Bulldogs ranked in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 for the entire 2014 season.  Wingate is currently No. 12 in the nation on the heels of finishing the season 28-2 overall and 21-1 in the South Atlantic Conference.  Collier's Bulldogs won their ninth-straight South Atlantic Conference Title and are ranked in the top 25 in the nation in seven categories. Wingate has won 93 percent of its games this season to rank No. 3 in Division II.  Collier wins the award for the eighth straight season. He was also named the AVCA National Coach of the Year in 2013.

Wingate led the Conference with three selections on the First Team All-Conference in Shelly Stumpff, Alison Cooke, and Lexi Potter.  Carson-Newman was close behind with two selections as Rachel Harper and Jenna Wilson represented the Eagles on the First Team.  Haley Rhyne of Lenoir-Rhyne, Moriah Jones of Tusculum and Pittman rounded out the list of First Team selections.

First Team
Hailey Pittman, MB, Anderson
Shelly Stumpff, OH, Wingate
Rachel Harper, OH, Carson-Newman
Alison Cooke, S, Wingate
Lexi Potter, MB, Wingate
Jenna Wilson, MB, Carson-Newman
Haley Rhyne, OH, Lenoir-Rhyne
Moriah Jones, L, Tusculum

Second Team
Shannon Gillespie, OH, Anderson
Kristen Pickett, S, Carson-Newman
Megan Hasse, OH, Tusculum
Susie Murach, OH, Wingate
Abby Saehler, MB, Wingate
Mary Kate Griffin, OH, Mars Hill
Kiera Holland, OH, Lincoln Memorial
Alix Hooker, L, Anderson

Player of the Year
Hailey Pittman, Anderson

Freshman of the Year
Brooke Redmond, MB, Lenoir-Rhyne

Coach of the Year
Shelton Collier, Wingate