Johnson leads three Lions with First Team All-SAC honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Wingate setter Rachel Alles was voted the 2018 South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, while Coker middle blocker Lana Strejcek was named the Conference's Freshman of the Year and Wingate leader Shelton Collier was named Coach of the Year, the conference office announced today.

Alles, a junior from Tinley Park, Ill., was the on-court general for the Bulldogs this season. An all-around contributor on the court, she finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the league in assists with 1,046 and second in assists per set with 11.37. She added 89 kills, 308 digs, 23 services aces and 56 total blocks. Her efforts earned her AstroTurf Specialist of the Week honors three times this season.

Strejcek, a freshman from Cornelius, N.C., becomes the first Cobra player to earn freshman of the year honors since Coker joined the SAC in 2013. She recorded 248 kills, 23 services aces, 79 digs and 80 total blocks with a .280 hitting percentage during her freshman season. She also ranks in the top-10 in the league in both hitting percentage and blocks.

Collier led the Bulldogs to their 12^th SAC Regular Season Title in the last 13 years, finishing the regular season with a record of 26-1 overall and 19-1 in SAC play. Under his leadership, No. 24 Wingate lost just 16 sets all season, it had the second highest winning percentage in NCAA Division II at .963 and the Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Southeast Region.

Joining Alles on the first team were Anderson's Emily Conlin and Hailee Wilhelm, Wingate's Phoebe Havenaar, Lenoir-Rhyne's Angelica Arroyo, Casey Tarvin from Queens, Mars Hill's Sally Anne Johnson and Carson-Newman's Morgan Ballard.

2018 SAC Volleyball All-Conference

First Team

Emily Conlin, Anderson

Rachel Alles, Wingate

Angelica Arroyo, Lenoir-Rhyne

Phoebe Havenaar, Wingate

Casey Tarvin, Queens

Sally Anne Johnson, Mars Hill

Hailee Wilhelm, Anderson 

Morgan Ballard, Carson-Newman (L)

Second Team

Anna Holmquist, Wingate

Erica Whiteaker, Lincoln Memorial (L)

Rylee Storms, Lincoln Memorial

Kori Adams, Wingate (L)

Jayln Knight, Anderson 

Hannah Givens, Wingate

Megan Oldenburger, Carson-Newman

Tone Gill, Lincoln Memorial

Honorable Mention

Taylor du Bray, Coker

Zoe Dinkins, Newberry

Taylor Prall, Lenoir-Rhyne

Elizabeth Kaeser, Mars Hill

Regan Duty, Anderson 

Melissa Mazur, Tusculum (L)

Logan Witt, Queens 

Jaclyn Denny, Lenoir-Rhyne

All-Freshman

Lana Strejcek, Coker

Emily Walter, Lincoln Memorial

Helen Hamilton, Lenoir-Rhyne

Sarah Goddard, Mars Hill

Liliana Kinder, Anderson

Carli Pigza, Tusculum

Player of the Year

Rachel Alles, Wingate

Freshman of the Year

Lana Strejcek, Coker

Coach of the Year

Shelton Collier, Wingate

Statistical Champions

Hitting Percentage: Hailee Wilhelm, Anderson (.338)

Kills Per Set: Casey Tarvin, Queens (3.76)

Assists Per Set: Emily Conlin, Anderson (11.47)

Blocks Per Set: Zoe Dinkins (1.37)

Service Aces: Emily Conlin (53)

Digs Per Set: Morgan Ballard, Carson-Newman (7.55)

Team Hitting Percentage: Wingate (.245)

Team Assists Per Set: Wingate (13.99)

Team Kills Per Set: Wingate (14.63)

Team Winning Percentage: Wingate (.963)

Team Opponent Hitting Percentage:  Wingate (.104)

Team Blocks Per Set: Carson-Newman (2.31)

Team Service Aces Per Set: Lincoln Memorial (1.90)

Team Digs Per Set: Queens (22.17)