PHOTO GALLERY
Belmont’s Allison McCoy was selected as the 2013 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year while Morehead State’s Leslie Schellhaas earned Defensive Player of the Year honors as voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. SIUE’s Mallory Mangun was named the Freshman of the Year while Coach of the Year honors went to Eastern Illinois’ Kate Price.
McCoy, a senior middle blocker from Huntington Beach, Calif., becomes the first Bruin to earn Player of the Year honors. She leads the league with a .379 hitting percentage while also pacing the conference with a .421 clip in OVC play. She has recorded 300 total kills so far this season, 167 of them coming in league action. McCoy has reach double-digits in kills 18 times this year, including the last six straight matches. She has totaled 103 blocks this year to rank among league leaders and averaged over one block per set in conference play. In addition to being named the OVC Player of the Year, McCoy was selected to the All-OVC team.
A senior libero from Edgewood, Ky., Schellhaas ranks in the top 30 in the nation with 5.13 digs per set. She totaled 600 digs in 117 sets to rank second in the league. In OVC play, the 2013 All-OVC pick racked up 298 digs in 58 sets. Schellhaas has recorded double-digits in digs in all but one match so far this year. She has recorded 20 or more digs 14 times this season, including the last three matches. She has also tallied 19 service aces and 106 assists. Schellhaas is the first Eagle to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Mangun, a freshman setter from Joliet, Ill, was the league’s top freshman setter as she dished out 1,100 assists in 114 sets to rank sixth in the OVC. She was third in the conference with 11.02 assists per set in OVC play. She has recorded 18 double-doubles so far this year. The All-Newcomer selection reached the 50-plus assist mark five times including a season-high 67 assists versus Southeast Missouri. She finished the regular-season with 273 digs, 57 kills and 14 service aces. She is the first Cougar to receive Freshman of the Year honors.
Price earns her first Coach of the Year honor after leading her team to a 12-4 league mark while going 18-11 overall. The Panthers were a perfect 8-0 at home this season. Eastern Illinois leads the league in hitting percentage (.228), assists (13.04 aps) and kills (13.92 kps). EIU enters the OVC Tournament having won nine of its last 10 matches. Price is just the second Panther head coach to win this honor joining Betty Ralston who won the award in 1998.
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
The 2013 14-member All-OVC team includes five individuals who received postseason honors last year. Joining McCoy and Schellhaas on the team are Eastern Illinois senior Reynae Hutchinson (Matton, Ill.), sophomore Sarah Bradbury (Decatur, Ind.) and redshirt senior Stephanie Arnold (Oregon, Wis.); Belmont senior Jen Myer (New Braunfels, Texas) and senior Hannah Miranda (Covington, La.); Morehead State sophomore Courtney Smith (Bowling Green, Ky.) and redshirt senior Aryn Bohannon (Amarillo, Texas); Eastern Kentucky senior Ashley Edmond (Michigan City, Ind.); Austin Peay senior Lauren Henderson (Fredericktown, Mo.); Tennessee State’s redshirt junior Naomi Wells (Huntsville, Ala.); SIUE senior Cori Harris (Champaign, Ill.); and Southeast Missouri senior Emily Coon (Imperial, Mo.)
Along with Mangun, earning All-Newcomer honors are Morehead State redshirt junior Alex Fitzmorris (Overland Park, Kan.); Tennessee State freshman Arijana Anderson; Murray State freshman Scottie Ingram (Solsberry, Ind.); UT Martin freshman Madison Wessling (Lousiville, Ky.); Austin Peay redshirt freshman Sammie Ebright; and Jacksonville State freshman Kacy Clinkenbeard (Louisville, Ky.)
2013 All-Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Teams
(voted on by the league’s head volleyball coaches and sports information directors)
Allison McCoy, Belmont
Jen Myer, Belmont*
Ashley Edmond, Eastern Kentucky*
Reynae Hutchinson, Eastern Illinois*
Marah Bradbury, Eastern Illinois
Lauren Henderson, Austin Peay
Naomi Wells, Tennessee State*
Leslie Schellhaas, Morehead State
Stephanie Arnold, Eastern Illinois
Cori Harris, SIUE
Hannah Miranda, Belmont*
Courtney Smith, Morehead State
Aryn Bohannon, Morehead State
Emily Coon, Southeast Missouri*
OVC Player of the Year: Allison McCoy, Belmont
OVC Freshman of the Year: Mallory Mangun, SIUE
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Leslie Schellhaas, Morehead State
OVC Coach of the Year: Kate Price, Eastern Illinois
ALL-NEWCOMER
Alex Fitzmorris, Morehead State
Mallory Mangun, SIUE
Arijana Anderson, Tennessee State
Scottie Ingram, Murray State
Madison Wessling, UT Martin
Sammie Ebright, Austin Peay
Kacy Clinkenbeard, Jacksonville State
* - All-OVC selection in 2012