SFA Dominates All-Southland Conference Awards
11/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
FRISCO, Texas - Stephen F. Austin senior Paige Holland was named the 2014 Southland Conference Volleyball Setter of the Year and head coach Debbie Humphreys was named the Katrinka Jo Crawford Coach of the Year, the league office announced Wednesday in conjunction with the all-conference teams.
SFA landed five student-athletes on the all-conference teams with Holland (Senior, S), Jill Ivy (Senior, OH), Jacque Allen (Junior, MB) and Justice Walker (Sophomore, MB) being selected to the first team and OJ Olson (Junior, L) receiving second team honors.
Holland led the Ladyjacks to a perfect 16-0 league record and a number one seed in this year's conference tournament. She helped SFA rank first in hitting percentage (.278), assists per set (13.60) and kills per set (14.33), while ranking second individually with 11.60 assists per set during the SLC regular season. The Magnolia, Texas native sits fifth all-time in SFA history with 4,408 career assists after compiling 1,017 so far in 2014.
Holland's Setter of the Year honor is the first for SFA since JJ Jones won the award in back-to-back seasons in 2005 and 2006. Holland was also selected to the All-SLC First Team for the first time after her breakout season.
Humphreys guided the Ladyjacks to their first undefeated conference season since 2006 and a 23-7 overall record. In her 27th season, Humphrey's team clinched the SLC regular season title for the first time since owning a share of the title in 2007. Over her SFA career, Humphreys has eight Southland Conference championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances and 18 seasons with at least 20 wins. She is second all-time in the Southland in victories (595) and third all-time in winning percentage (.663).
Now with her fifth coach of the year award, Humphreys has been selected for the honor more than any other current head coach or current member institution and is second all-time. Humphreys was also named coach of the year in 1992, 1994, 2004 and 2006.
Joining Holland in representing SFA on the All-Southland First Team are Ivy, Allen and Walker. The four first team selections are the most in program history.
Ivy, a three-time all-conference pick, garners first team recognition for the second time in her outstanding career. She led SFA's potent offensive attack with a team-high 368 kills on .263 hitting on the year and ranked eighth in the conference in both hitting percentage (.310) and kills per set (3.67) during league action. Ivy, a native of Katy, Texas, is currently ninth on SFA's all-time career kills list with 1,349 career kills - just 25 kills shy of eighth.
The Ladyjacks' middle blocking tandem of Allen and Walker was one of the best in the conference on both sides of the net. The duo ranked first and second in hitting percentage over the course of the SLC season as Allen posted a .427 attack mark and Walker hit at a .385 clip. Allen (1.25) and Walker (1.12) also ranked among the best in blocks per set in league play, ranking third and sixth, respectively. Overall in 2014, they accounted for 465 kills in 28 matches. Allen is from Mansfield, Texas and Walker hails from Fort Worth.
For the second straight year, Olson garnered second team recognition to give SFA five players on the all-conference teams - the most by any single team this season. Olson was a rock for SFA defensively over the entire year, leading the team in digs (546) and helping the squad rank second in opponent hitting percentage (.160) during the SLC. She ranked fourth in the conference in digs per set (5.02) over 16 conference matches and ranked 18th in the nation with 5.25 digs per set overall on the year. Olson is a native of Cedar Park, Texas.
The Ladyjacks will play Nicholls State in the first round of the 2014 Southland Conference Tournament in Natchitoches, La. on Friday at 4:00 p.m. The semifinals are set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with the championship match starting at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday.
SFA swept first round opponent and eighth-seeded Nicholls State back on Sept. 25 on the road.
For a complete list of the All-SLC teams and individual honors, click here.
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