ANDERSON, S.C. - After helping lead the Trojans to their second consecutive berth in the NCAA Southeast Region Tournament, seniors Hailey Pittman and Alix Hooker have been named to the 2014 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Southeast Region Volleyball team, as announced earlier today.
"We are extremely honored to have two of our players recognized for this honor," said Anderson head coach Craig Mosqueda. "Both of these players have poured their heart into the team for the good of the team. I am so proud of their accomplishments. Their hard work and determination have helped lead this team to where we are today."
Pittman, a first-team selection, was named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year at the conclusion of the regular season. The 5-foot-11 middle blocker earned conference player of the week on two occasions and currently leads the league in hitting percentage (.399), kills (403) and points (484.5), while ranking second in both kills per set (3.54/set) and points per set (4.2/set). A native of Altamonte Springs, Fla., Pittman has reached double-figure kills on 21 occasions this season and is sixth in the AU record books with 1,307 career kills.
Hooker was named to the second team after ranking 25th nationally in digs and 28th in the country in digs per set at the conclusion of the regular season. The Plant City, Fla. native is currently 19th nationally in total digs and 40th in the nation with 5.17 digs per set. She earned Second-Team All-South Atlantic Conference honors earlier and holds the school record with 2,139 career digs. Hooker set the school's single-season record with 670 digs a year ago and has reached double-figure digs in 27 straight matches and 32 occasions this season.
USC Aiken senior outside hitter Ashley Diedrich was named the Southeast Region Player of the Year while Armstrong State University paced all schools with three first-team honorees.
The 2014 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and the league's leader in kills and points per set, Diedrich headlined a first team that includes players from four different schools that will be competing in the upcoming NCAA Southeast Regional, which begins on Thursday in Wingate, N.C. Diedrich led the Pacers to their first NCAA berth since 2007 as USC Aiken is the No. 3 seed in the upcoming regional. Second seed and No. 21-ranked Armstrong State features three first-team honorees in senior setter Kamryn Sherman, the 2014 Peach Belt Conference Setter of the Year; senior libero Morgan Hill, the 2014 Peach Belt Conference co-Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year; and senior outside hitter Stephanie Sfara, a 2013 Daktronics Second Team All-Region honoree.
Sixth-seeded Carson-Newman is represented on the first team by senior middle hitter Jenna Wilson. King (Tenn.) senior outside hitter Summer Kremer, who ranks in the Top 10 nationally in kills and points per set, rounds out the first team honorees.
Members of the first team are now eligible for Daktronics NCAA Division II All-America honors. The Daktronics NCAA DII teams are voted on by the NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) from the Southeast Region, which is comprised of schools from Conference Carolinas, the South Atlantic Conference and the Peach Belt Conference.
The second team features three players from No. 12-ranked and regional host Wingate in senior rightside hitter Shelly Stumpff, senior setter Alison Cooke and senior middle hitter Lexi Potter. Armstrong State placed two players on the second team in sophomore middle hitter Rachel Thompson and sophomore rightside hitter Emily Wylie. Carson-Newman senior outside hitter Rachel Harper gave each SAC school and regional participant two honorees on the All-Region squad as well. The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition.
