ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Expanding on a laundry list of honors as a sophomore Morgan Ballard earned a spot on the All-Southeast Region Tournament Team announced Saturday evening at the conclusion of region action in the 2017 NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championships.
It is the 10th time in the history of the program that Carson-Newman has placed an athlete on the unit and first since 2015 when Maddie Borch, Molly Locke and Anna Patton were picked to the roster.
Ballard has been tabbed first-team All-South Atlantic Conference, second-team All-Southeast Region by D2CCA and honorable mention all-region by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in her first campaign with the Eagles. She also picked up an honor of being named to the SAC's All-Tournament squad.
In the opening round of the tournament, the libero tallied 29 digs in a five-set loss to eventual region runner-up Wingate.
For the Weaverville, N.C. native, it was the 31st match out of 32 in 2017 that she notched double-digit scoops. In 13 matches she posted at least 25 digs putting a stamp on an historic campaign by the defensive stalwart.
In 118 sets, Ballard posted the best digs per set in program history with 6.94 besting Blaire Young's 6.79 mark in 2004 as one of three players in the history of the school to finish with at least six scoops per set.
The sophomore racked up 819 total digs to finish behind Young's 856 from 2004 for second-most in the 29 years of volleyball at Carson-Newman.
2017 Southeast Region All-Tournament Team
Kaitlyn Elkins, Outside Hitter, Barton College
Morgan Ballard, Libero, Carson-Newman University
Rebecca Martinez, Libero, USC Aiken
Chandler Ewaldsen, Defensive Specialist, Georgia College
Marissa Mitter, Right Side, Anderson University
Rachel Burts, Middle Blocker, Anderson University
Sara Davis, Middle Hitter, Flagler College
Rachel Alles, Setter, Wingate University
Karlie Redfern, Outside Hitter, Flagler College
Katie Bludau, Outside Hitter, Wingate University
Taja Valmyr, Outside Hitter, Flagler College
Lynnlee Mather, Middle Blocker, Wingate University
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