Three Pioneers named to All-SAC Volleyball Team

Three Pioneers named to All-SAC Volleyball Team

 

ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Three Tusculum student-athletes have been named to the 2017 All-South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Team announced league officials Wednesday.

TC outside hitter Cassie Born earned a spot on the All-SAC second team while setter Shannon Murphy and libero Melissa Mazur garnered honorable mention distinction.

Born, a junior from Horse Shoe, North Carolina, led the Pioneers in total kills and kills per set. Her 320 total kills are sixth in the conference while her 2.96 kills per set average is ninth. She also averaged 3.21 digs per set and finished ninth in the league with her 32 service aces.

Murphy, a senior from Tinley Park, Illinois, directed the Tusculum offense dishing out a SAC-best 1,204 assists this season. Her 10.03 assists per set average is fourth in the league while her 39 service aces are the second-most in the conference. She is averaging 0.32 aces per set (9th in the SAC) and led Tusculum with 22 double-doubles (assists/digs).

Playing in just three seasons, Murphy is ranked fifth in program history in career assists with 2,358 helpers, while her 7.44 career assists per set average is also fifth in the TC record book. Her assist tally this year (1204) are the seventh-most in a Tusculum single-season.

Mazur, a junior from Chicago, Illinois, earns All-SAC honors for a third consecutive year. The 2015 All-American led the Pioneers with her 565 total digs (4th in SAC) and her 5.65 digs per set average (3rd in SAC). In her 80-match career, she has already posted 1,865 career digs, which are third-most ever by a Pioneer. Her 6.09 career digs per set average is second in the Tusculum record book.

The Pioneers finished the season with a 15-16 overall record while advancing to the SAC Quarterfinal for the 18th time in the last 19 years. Tusculum posted a four-spot improvement from a year ago as the Pioneers tied for fourth place in the league this season.

2017 SAC Volleyball All-Conference Team
First Team
Katie Bludau, Wingate
Marissa Mitter, Anderson
Anna Holmquist, Wingate
Rebecca Cochran, Queens
Rachel Burts, Anderson
Emily Conlin, Anderson
Sydney Kunz, Queens
Morgan Ballard, Carson-Newman (L)

Second Team
Marnie Steeter, Carson-Newman
Kiera Holland, Lincoln Memorial
Rachel Alles, Wingate
Brooke Redmond, Lenoir-Rhyne
Taylor Henry, Queens
Phoebe Havenaar, Wingate
Cassie Born, Tusculum
Kori Adams, Wingate (L)

Honorable Mention
Serena Jackson, Anderson
Rebecca Butler, Mars Hill
Jessica Raines, Queens
Taylor du Bray, Coker
Lauren Hochstetler, Mars Hill
Shannon Murphy, Tusculum
Sally Anne Johnson, Mars Hill
Melissa Mazur, Tusculum (L)

SAC All-Freshmen Team
Taylor Prall, Lenoir-Rhyne
Anne Abernathy, Wingate
Megan Oldenburger, Carson-Newman
Casey Tarvin, Queens
Sarah Pasour, Mars Hill
Jaycee Jones, Queens (T)
Alicia Kessler, Lincoln Memorial (T)

SAC Player of the Year: Katie Bludau, Wingate
SAC Freshman of the Year: Taylor Prall, Lenoir-Rhyne
SAC Coach of the Year: Todd Hay, Anderson