Ladyjacks Place Three on Southland Conference All-Academic Volleyball Teams
12/11/2017 3:26:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Coleman and Hollas named to First Team, Cain secures spot on Second Team
Complete Southland Conference Release
FRISCO, Texas - Three Stephen F. Austin volleyball players - junior Haley Coleman, sophomore Ann Hollas and senior Lexus Cain - were selected to represent the Ladyjacks on the 2017 Southland Conference All-Academic Volleyball Teams it was announced today in a press release issued by the league office.
Both Coleman and Hollas appeared on the 12-member Southland Conference All-Academic First Team while Cain was one of six student-athletes from the 13-team league to be named to the All-Academic Second Team.
Offensively, Coleman led the Ladyjacks' attack by pounding down 313 terminations during a junior season in which she earned a spot on the All-Southland Conference First Team. Those 313 terminations worked out to an average of 2.82 per set which was the top figure on the team and the 10th-highest in the 13-team Southland Conference.
Coleman's skill set extended to all six rotations, too, as the Rockwall, Texas, product finished second among the SFA ranks in terms of digs per set (2.85) to go along with 0.47 blocks per set in the front row. Additionally, with 23 service aces (0.21 per set), she was one of five Ladyajcks who amassed 20 or more winners from the service line in 2017.
Already on the receiving end of College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District First Team and CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team honors, Hollas' selection to the All-Academic First Team was the first of her career.
Through the course of her second season in Ladyjack colors, Hollas once again set up shop as the squad's primary setter. The sophomore oversaw the most efficient offense in the Southland Conference as the Ladyjacks finished 2017 with a team hitting percentage of .253 which was the top figure in the 13-team league and the 37th best in the nation.
In all, Hollas dished out 955 assists - the sixth-highest total in the Southland Conference - which translated to an assists per set mark of 7.83 which was the 10th-best in the league. The sophomore also emerged as SFA's top threat at the service line by delivering a team-leading 39 aces. That service ace total was the fourth-highest among all Southland players while Hollas' aces per set average of 0.32 ranked seventh in the conference.
Defensively, Hollas dove for double-digit digs on 13 occasions which helped her finished the season with a team-leading 13 double-doubles. Overall, Hollas was one of five Ladyjack who averaged at least two digs per set and her average of 2.37 was the third-highest among all SFA players.
During the fourth and final leg of her career in SFA colors, Cain collected All-Southland Conference Second Team honors by spearheading arguably the best back-row defense in the 13-team league. The Amarillo, Texas, product led the team and finished fifth among all Southland players with a digs per set average of 4.54.
In all, Cain scooped up 554 digs through 2017 to push her career total to 1,624 - the fifth-highest total in the history of the program. With Cain captaining the back row, SFA limited opponents to a collective attack percentage of just .168 - the second-best figure in the Southland and the 33rd-best in the nation. Additionally, the Ladyjacks' dig total of 2,019 in 2017 was the highest in the Southland and the 31st-highest in all of NCAA Division I volleyball.
For SFA, 2017 was a banner year that saw the squad secure its ninth regular season Southland Conference crown. In all, the Ladyjacks posted a record of 26-8 and tallied the program's most wins in a season since 2007. SFA went 14-2 in Southland Conference play, earned the top overall seed in the Southland Conference Tournament and returned to postseason play for the first time since 2006 by securing a bid to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC).
-SFA-
