Hollas Named Southland VB Student-Athlete of the Year, Joins Coleman on All-Academic First Team
12/10/2018 4:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Hollas is first SFA volleyball player since 2014 to earn title of Student-Athlete of the Year
Complete Southland Conference Release
FRISCO, Texas - A pair of SFA volleyball players - junior setter Ann Hollas and senior outside hitter Haley Coleman - added to their growing list of accomplishments from the 2018 campaign on Monday.
Just hours after being named a Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team choice by the College Sports Information Directors of American (CoSIDA), Hollas earned the title of 2018 Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year and was also named to the Southland Conference Volleyball All-Academic First Team along with Coleman. Hollas carries a 4.00 GPA in biology while Coleman owns a 3.94 GPA in kinesiology and Monday's announcement comes after the pair were each voted as 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District representatives by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Nov. 15.
Hollas becomes the fourth SFA player in program history to earn the title of Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year and is also the first to gain that title since Paige Holland did so in 2014. Tracie Rohde (2006) and Sunni Williams (2002) are the other two Ladyjacks who have collected Southland Conference Volleyball Student-Athlete of the Year laurels.
Named the Southland Conference Setter of the Year in mid-November, Hollas also earned a spot on the All-Southland Conference First Team after helping to direct one of the most efficient offenses in the nation. The junior out of Longview, Texas, topped the Ladyjacks' charts by averaging 6.34 assists per set and helped the Ladyjacks' offense hit a collective .239 for the season. That team attack percentage was the second-highest in the Southland and the 54th-best among all NCAA Division I volleyball clubs in 2018.
Hollas' versatility extended well beyond just setting, however, as the six-rotation player also averaged 1.46 kills, 2.67 digs, 0.73 blocks and 0.23 service aces per set for SFA. Her defensive numbers helped the Ladyjacks rank third nationally in opponent hitting percentage (.144), 17th in total blocks (320.5) and 24th in blocks per set (2.67).
Now a three-time Southland Conference All-Academic Team member, Coleman collected First Team honors for the second-straight season after helping the Ladyjacks to one of their best seasons in program history. The go-to player in the Ladyjacks' multi-pronged offensive attack, Coleman led SFA in points (395.5), points per set (3.38), kills (329) and kills per set (2.81) through the course of 2018.
Also an All-Southland Conference First Team pick, Coleman complimented her offensive prowess with a service game that ranked among the best in the league. Her 37 service aces were the second-most in the Southland and helped her average 0.32 aces per frame. Defensively, Coleman generated 2.52 digs and 0.42 blocks per set through her final season of collegiate volleyball.
Few volleyball teams in the nation enjoyed the success the Ladyjacks did in 2018. SFA finished the year with a 32-3 record which included a perfect 16-0 showing in Southland Conference showdowns. As a result, the Ladyjacks captured the Southland Conference regular season crown - the program's 10th regular season title - before going on to win the Southland Conference Tournament and punch the program's first NCAA Tournament ticket since 2006.
From Saturday, Sept. 1 until Thursday, Nov. 19, the Ladyjacks reeled off a program record and nation-leading 29 consecutive victories that helped the team establish new single-season bests in both total wins (32) and winning percentage (.914).
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