August 16, 2011

James, Swisher receive preseason All-SAC volleyball honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Carson-Newman seniors Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) and Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) have been named to the 2011 preseason All-South Atlantic Conference volleyball team, league officials announced Tuesday. James received first team honors, while Swisher garnered second team honors.

ROCK HILL, S.C. — Carson-Newman seniors Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) and Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) have been named to the 2011 preseason All-South Atlantic Conference volleyball team, league officials announced Tuesday.

James received first team honors, while Swisher garnered second team honors.

James, a 5-11 middle hitter, was the top blocker in the nation in 2010, averaging 1.73 blocks per game. She finished the year with a career-high 199 blocks (63 block solos, 136 block assists). James was also fifth in the conference with a hitting percentage of .288 and second on the team in kills with 329. She was a second team All-SAC performer in 2010 and an American Volleyball Coaches' Association All-Region Honorable Mention selection.

Swisher, a 6-2 right side hitter, ranked second on the team in blocks last season with 85, averaging 0.74 blocks per game. She also ranked third on the team in kills with 271.

"We've focused on the two of them being servants, and out of servanthood, comes leadership," C-N head coach Shannon Mincey said of her two All-SAC selections. "So far they have focused on serving their underclassmen. I think its really neat both of them have been awarded this honor. Nikki is so versatile and so athletic and has the possibility of being All-American if she continues her statistical success, and Carli gives us a unique dimension on the right side. She hits with a lot of power and we're going to work on her blocking so she can up those numbers as well this year."

C-N turned in a 20-11 record in 2010 and received a third straight berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Eagles advanced to the Southeast Region semifinals for the second time in school history.

The Tusculum College Pioneers had four players earn first team preseason All-South Atlantic Conference honors. The Pioneers finished second in the conference in 2010, going 16-2 in league play. No other SAC school has more than two players on the preseason teams.

Tusculum junior middle blocker Alyssa Raterman (Urbana, Ohio) and junior outside hitter/middle blocker Sam Underwood (Muncie, Ind.) are joined by sophomore setter Ashley Sarmiento (Dayton, Ohio) and sophomore libero Caitlyn Dean (Fort Wayne, Ind.) on the first team. Raterman, Sarmiento and Dean were first-team All-SAC selections in 2010, while also earning All-Region honors. Underwood earned second-team honors last season. Sarmiento led the league with 10.39 assists per set, and was named the SAC Freshman of the Year in 2010. Dean, the nation's leader in digs per set, earned first-team All-American honors from Daktronics. Raterman averaged 2.09 kills per set, while ranking second in the league with a .350 hitting percentage. Underwood was second on the team with 2.60 kills per set in 2010, adding 2.83 digs per set.

Newberry sophomore outside hitter Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) earns first-team preseason all-conference accolades. A second-team all-conference selection in 2010, Parrish finished third in the league with 3.41 kills per set last year. Wingate senior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) rounds out the first team. The three-time All-SAC selection was ninth with 6.95 assists per set in 2010, helping lead Wingate to its fifth straight SAC title. The Bulldogs became the first school in SAC history to earn a trip to the Elite Eight last season.

Lincoln Memorial University had a pair of second-team preseason All-SAC selections. Sophomore outside hitter Kaitlin Walton (Muncie, Ind.) is joined by senior outside hitter Candace Richardson (Houston, Texas). Walton was a second-team All-SAC selection in 2010, while also earning All-SAC freshman honors. She was ninth in the SAC with 2.92 kills per set last season. Richardson averaged 1.99 kills and 2.13 digs per set in 2010.

Mars Hill College also had a pair of representatives on the second team. Senior outside hitter Evie Tafunai (Edwardsburg, Mich.) joins sophomore libero Maggie Murphy (Richmond, Va.). Tafunai was seventh in the SAC with 3.08 kills per set in 2010, while Murphy finished second in the conference with 6.38 digs per set. Murphy was a second-team All-SAC selection in 2010. Brevard College senior outside hitter Jordei Osby (Goldsboro, N.C.) earns second team-honors in the preseason. She was second in the SAC with 1.03 blocks per set in 2010, to go along with 1.60 kills per set.

Catawba senior outside hitter Shay Meeks (Kings Mountain, N.C.) is a second-team preseason all-conference selection. She finished 10th in the league with 2.92 kills per set in 2010.

Wingate sophomore outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) rounds out the second team. The All-SAC Freshman team selection in 2010 was eighth in the league with 2.96 kills per set last season, while also collecting 2.95 digs per set.

-SAC-

2011 VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON ALL-SAC

FIRST TEAM

Nikki James, Carson-Newman

Kaitlyn Whitmer, Catawba

Samantha Parrish, Newberry

Caitlyn Dean, Tusculum (Libero)

Alyssa Raterman, Tusculum

Ashley Sarmiento, Tusculum

Samantha Underwood, Tusculum

Liz Willis, Wingate

SECOND TEAM