Sanders, Quimby Earn Slots On The A-Sun All-Freshman Team
11/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Freshmen Mindy Quimby (Keenesburg, Colo./Weld Central) and Emily Sanders (Sullivan, Ill./Sullivan) became the first two volleyball players in school history to earn postseason honors, the Atlantic Sun Conference office in Macon, Ga., announced on Tuesday afternoon, as both players earned sports on the A-Sun All-Freshmen Team as voted upon by the league's coaches and SIDs. The duo are one of two sets of teammates in the A-Sun to earn All-Freshmen honors along with UNF.
Lipscomb's Alex Kelly earned her second straight A-Sun Player of the Year award while her coach, Brandon Rosenthal, earned Coach of the Year honors. Jacksonville's Shelly Walroth earned a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year nod and Paige Pridgeon of North Florida earned the Freshman of the Year designation.
"I am so happy for Mindy and Emily," Upstate head coach Jennifer Callowaysaid. "I love that they have been selected by the A-Sun coaches. To see that the other coaches recognize their sincere attitude and die-hard efforts on the court each time they played says something pretty special about them. These coaches see our team only two times a year and it's so refreshing to know that they could see how hard we see these two work on a day-to-day basis."
Quimby, a 5-10 outside hitter, was one of five A-Sun freshmen to play more than 100 sets on the season. She finished fourth amongst all A-Sun freshmen in kills with 139 and sixth kills per set (1.35). She was also fourth in digs, scooping up 200 on the year. In A-Sun play, Quimby moved from her right side/defensive specialist position and into an all-around player. The results moved her into third in conference play amongst freshmen in kills (114) and kills per set (1.65), fourth in digs (138) and sixth in digs per set (2.00) and blocks (13). She also posted two double-doubles, notching 10 kills and 13 digs at Campbell before leading Upstate to a five-set come-from-behind victory over North Florida by notching 18 kills and 13 digs. She also added seven matches with 10 or more digs.
Sanders, a 5-6 setter, was also one of five freshmen to play more than 100 sets in the A-Sun, and she led all conference freshmen with nine double-doubles, including posting six in A-Sun play. Sanders was the only A-Sun freshman to post 500 assists on the year, finishing with 501 helpers, an average of 4.77 per set. She also finished tied for second among A-Sun freshmen in aces (21) and third in digs (222). She was also second in assists per set (4.7) and fourth in digs per set (2.11). In A-Sun play, Sanders led all conference freshmen in assists (352) and she was third in digs (148). She finished with 23 double-digit assist efforts.
The eight-member All-Freshmen Team also featured UNF's Nicole Baran and unanimous selection Paige Pridgeon, Stetson's Kelli Carneal, Lipscomb's unanimous selection Kaycee Green, Campbell's Jordan Reaves and Jacksonville's Alison Loeppky.
All-Atlantic Sun Postseason Teams First Team: Pos Player, School OH Maggie Johnson, Belmont *MH Alex Kelly, Lipscomb S Stefine "Jake" Pease, Lipscomb OH Jelena Simic, FGCU OH Brooke Singleton, Jacksonville *L Shelley Walroth, Jacksonville MB Ashley Weers, Campbell Second Team: Pos Player, School L Megan Clements, Belmont OH Sabrita Gulley, Kennesaw State OH Meghan Hinemeyer, Lipscomb MB Nicki Kent, Jacksonville S Chandra Lefever, FGCU MB Kaley Read, UNF S Channing Salava, Belmont Player of the Year: Alex Kelly, Lipscomb
Defensive Player of the Year: *Shelley Walroth, Jacksonville All-Freshman Team: Pos Player, School L Nicole Baran, UNF S Kelli Carneal, Stetson *OH Kaycee Green, Lipscomb OH Alison Loeppky, Jacksonville *OH Paige Pridgeon, UNF OH Jordan Reaves, Campbell OH Mindy Quimby, USC Upstate S Emily Sanders, USC Upstate A tie in the voting results ended with an eight member All-Freshman Team Freshman of the Year: Paige Pridgeon, UNF
Coach of the Year: Brandon Rosenthal, Lipscomb
