2011 ALL-GAC VOLLEYBALL RELEASE (PDF)
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A total of 21 volleyball student-athletes from all nine charter members of the Great American Conference have been honored in the inaugural release of the all-conference teams and yearly awards.
Arkansas Tech, the winner of the regular season championship and host of this weekend’s conference championship tournament, led the league with a total of three all-conference honorees, all three making the first team. Senior outside hitter Laura Farney, sophomore middle blocker Sara Motsinger and sophomore setter Amber Cerrillos represented the Golden Suns on the first team.
Southeastern Oklahoma State, Southwestern Oklahoma State, Ouachita Baptist and East Central all trailed closely behind ATU with a total of two honorees. SOSU, SWOSU and OBU each received one first team selection and one second team selection. The first team selections included Southeastern Oklahoma State senior outside hitter Lunden Azuara, Southwestern Oklahoma State senior middle blocker LaKendra Sanders and Ouachita Baptist junior libero Allison Frizzell. ECU received two second team selections.
Azuara, who led the league during the regular season with a total of 582 kills and an average of 4.69 kills per set, was named the GAC’s inaugural player of the year.
Harding, Henderson State and Southern Arkansas all received one all-conference honoree. Harding’s honoree, Mollie Arnold, earned the final first team nod, while HSU and SAU received second place selections for their respective honoree.
Seven others made the league’s honorable mention list, including the co-freshman of the year, Kalyn Helton, an outsider hitter from Harding. Helton and second team pick Tiara Iwegbu, a middle blocker from Southeastern Oklahoma State, shared the leagues top freshman honor.
Ty Lindberg, a sophomore outsider hitter from Henderson State, earned the league’s inaugural newcomer of the year honor after ranking third in the league in kills with an average of 3.88 per set during the regular season.
After leading her team to a perfect 16-0 GAC record and a 32-3 overall regular season finish, Arkansas Tech eighth-year head coach Kristy Bayer was named the GAC’s inaugural coach of the year.
2011 ALL-GAC VOLLEYBALL 1ST TEAM
OH – Lunden Azuara, Senior, Southeastern Oklahoma State
OH – Mollie Arnold, Sophomore, Harding
OH – Laura Farney, Senior, Arkansas Tech
MB – Sara Motsinger, Sophomore, Arkansas Tech
MB – LaKendra Sanders, Senior, Southwestern Oklahoma State
S – Amber Cerrillos, Sophomore, Arkansas Tech
L – Allison Frizzell, Junior, Ouachita Baptist
2011 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lunden Azuara, Southeastern Oklahoma State
2011 CO-FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR: Tiara Ewegbu, Southeastern Oklahoma State & Kalyn Helton, Harding
2011 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Ty Lindberg, Henderson State
2011 COACH OF THE YEAR: Kristy Bayer, Arkansas Tech
2011 ALL-GAC VOLLEYBALL 2ND TEAM
OH – Noelle Cope, Sophomore, East Central
OH – Ty Lindberg, Sophomore, Henderson State
S – Shayla May, Senior, East Central
L – Sladjana Smiljanic, Senior, Southwestern Oklahoma State
MB – Tiara Iwegbu, Freshman, Southeastern Oklahoma State
MB – Libby Merritt, Senior, Ouachita Baptist
OPP – Courtney Smith, Junior, Southern Arkansas
2011 ALL-GAC VOLLEYBALL HONORABLE MENTIONS
MB – Brittany Ryan, Junior, Arkansas Tech
OH – Amy Kleypas, Junior Arkansas-Monticello
OH – Kalyn Helton, Freshman, Harding
MB – Alyssa Short, Sophomore, Harding
MB – Tatiana Booth, Junior, East Central
OH – Jordan White, Senior, Southern Arkansas
RS – Bailee Graham, Junior, Harding
THE BREAKDOWN
Total All-Conference Selections (first and second): 14
Arkansas Tech: 3 (3 first)
Southeastern Oklahoma State: 2 (1 first, 1 second)
Southwestern Oklahoma State: 2 (1 first, 1 second)
Ouachita Baptist: 2 (1 first, 1 second)
East Central: 2 (2 second)
Harding: 1 (1 first)
Henderson State: 1 (1 second)
Southern Arkansas: 1 (1 second)