Messiah's All-Time Conference Honors
Annville, PA – With the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal taking place this evening, the conference has announced the All-MAC Commonwealth teams. A program record six Falcons were named to the three teams,
Jane Underman was tabbed as Player of the Year,
Mary Underman was awarded Rookie of the Year, and
Holly Motheral was honored with Coach of the Year.
Brooke Gallagher was named to the First Team for the second year in a row while
Emily Zellers,
Kristen Douglas, and
Taylor Hook were all Second Team selections.
Last season
Jane Underman was the first player in program history to be named conference Player of the Year and for the honor to be repeated for this season is truly a notable accomplishment. Underman finished with 359 kills, 3.55 kills per set, and a .231 attack percentage. Underman tallied 10-plus kills 21 times, and she reached the 19-kill mark against Wesley, Salisbury, and Christopher Newport. She also was fourth on the team in digs (171).
Mary Underman was named the Rookie of the Year, the third honor in program history with previous recognition being awarded to Karen Sollenberger '02 in 1998, and Jessica Geib '13 in 2010. A well-deserved honor, Underman led the MAC Commonwealth in hitting percentage (.411), a mark that currently has her ranked 6th nationally. She also finished second with 91 blocks, a 0.88 per set average.
Underman was third on the team in kills with 218 and recorded double-digit kills in four matches, with a career-high 15 kills against Christopher Newport. She also finished with a .500 or better hitting percentage fourteen times. Defensively, Underman was a forced to be reckoned with, as aforementioned collecting 91 blocks, and five-times she recorded five-plus blocks.
The First Team honor is the second one for
Brooke Gallagher after being named to the First Team last season. She led the MAC Commonwealth in assists per set (10.12), and has dished out 1,012 on the year. The assists per set number isn't far behind last year's mark of 10.98 and she is close to last year's sinlge-season high of 1,175. Gallagher also finished third in the conference for service aces with a total of 48.
She passed the 30-assists mark 21 times and had season-high numbers against Christopher Newport (53) and DeSales University (52).
Kristen Douglas was honored with Second Team recognition after being named to the First Team last year. She is second on the team in kills (248), and averaged 2.51 kills per set. Douglas tallied 10-plus kills 11 times this season, and she was solid defensively recording 159 digs and 37 blocks.
Emily Zellers has had an outstanding year as the libero for the Falcons and the Second Team recognition is well deserved after being named to the Honorable Mention team last season. She has collected 421 digs and led the team with 4.05 digs per set. Her steady play and skilled passing has been crucial to setting up the Falcon attack.
Taylor Hook is earning All-Conference honors for the first time as she was also named to the Second Team. She tallied 166 kills and was second on the team with 34 service aces. Hook has also been a dominant presence in the middle for the Falcons as she is second on the team in blocks (70).
For Motheral, the Coach of the Year is her first of her career and speaks highly of her leadership of the program during her first season. She has led the Falcons to a 25-7 overall record and they are competing in their ninth-straight conference tournament beginning tonight when they host Lebanon Valley for a Semifinal match at 7:00 p.m. in Brubaker Auditorium.
A complete listing of the All-MAC Commonwealth honors is below.
| 2016 All-MAC Commonwealth Women's Volleyball |
|
|
| Player of the Year: Jane Underman (Sr.), Messiah |
|
| Rookie of the Year: Mary Underman (Fr.), Messiah |
|
|
| Coach of the Year: Holly Motheral, Messiah |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| First Team All-MAC Commonwealth |
|
|
| Libero |
Deanna Bradbury |
Stevenson |
Junior |
| Setter |
Brooke Gallagher |
Messiah |
Senior |
| Middle Hitter |
Jess Attieh |
Lebanon Valley |
Sophomore |
| Middle Hitter |
Greta Weidemoyer |
Lebanon Valley |
Senior |
| Outside Hitter |
Nicole Dorman |
Widener |
Sophomore |
| Outside Hitter |
Annika Schwartz |
Stevenson |
Junior |
| Outside Hitter |
Jane Underman |
Messiah |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team All-MAC Commonwealth |
|
|
| Libero |
Emily Zellers |
Messiah |
Senior |
| Setter |
Sara Bollinger |
Stevenson |
Senior |
| Middle Hitter |
Mary Underman |
Messiah |
Freshman |
| Middle Hitter |
Elena Zinaich |
Hood |
Sophomore |
| Outside Hitter |
Kristen Brooks |
Stevenson |
Senior |
| Outside Hitter |
Kristen Douglas |
Messiah |
Senior |
| Outside Hitter |
Taylor Hook |
Messiah |
Senior |
|
|
|
|
| Honorable Mention All-MAC Commonwealth |
|
|
| Libero |
Lauren Elliott |
Widener |
Senior |
| Setter |
Sabrina Barbieri |
Widener |
Senior |
| Middle Hitter |
Victoria Prokic |
Stevenson |
Freshman |
| Right Side |
Kristine Jahn |
Lycoming |
Senior |
| Right Side |
Moriah Savage |
Stevenson |
Sophomore |
| Outside Hitter |
Kari Betson |
Hood |
Junior |
