November 10, 2011

Lady Eagles’ James named All-SAC, Santarelli earns All-Freshman Team honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman’s Nikki James has been named to the 2011 All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team, and Lauren Santarelli has been named to the All-SAC Freshman Team, as part of the year-end awards the league announced Thursday.

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman's Nikki James has been named to the 2011 All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team, and Lauren Santarelli has been named to the All-SAC Freshman Team, as part of the year-end awards the league announced Thursday.

James is the nation's leading blocker for the second straight season. She is averaging 1.64 blocks per set to lead Division II. She has 67 block solos and 108 block assists on the year.

James earns All-SAC honors for the second consecutive year.

The Cookeville, Tenn. native has propelled the Lady Eagles to a 17-13 record. She recorded double figures in blocks five times this season, including a season-high 13 in a win against Erskine in September. She eight or more blocks in a single match nine times.

On top of being one of the nation's top defensive players, James was third on the team in kills with 192. She hit .264 and averaged 1.81 kills per game on the season.

Santarelli was second on the team in kills during her freshman season, averaging 2.27 kills per game and reaching double figures in kills 10 times. She had 252 kills and hit .203 for the year to earn All-Freshman Team honors. She also had 234 digs, just over two per game, in her first season at C-N.

As a team, C-N leads the league and nation in blocks per set at 2.65.

Carson-Newman faces top-seeded Wingate in the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament on Friday in Harrogate, Tenn. at noon.

SAC volleyball regular season champion Wingate placed six student-athletes on the 2011 All-SAC Teams, led by league Player of the Year Liz Willis.

Willis, who was also named the SAC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year a day earlier, had earned All-Conference accolades in each of her previous three seasons before winning Player of the Year in 2011 as a senior. She led the SAC by averaging 11.84 assists per set and earned SAC Specialist of the Week honors three times this season.

Willis is joined on the All-Conference First Team by two other Bulldogs. Anna Hilton, a sophomore middle blocker, was selected to the First Team after finishing second in the SAC with a .325 hitting percentage. She also averaged 3.26 kills per set, which tied for fourth in the league with sophomore Cory McGowan, Wingate's third First-Team selection.

Also earning accolades from a Wingate team that finished the regular season 27-0 was Lexi Potter, who was named the SAC Freshman of the Year. The North Liberty, Iowa native led the league with a .332 hitting percentage and finished third with 1.02 blocks per set.

The Bulldogs added one player to the All-Conference Second Team and one more to the All-Freshman Team as well.

Catawba, which finished tied with Lincoln Memorial for the No. 2 spot in the regular season standings, had four players named to the All-SAC Team. The Indians' selections included first-teamers Jordan Raye – a three-time SAC Specialist of the Week in 2011 – and Kaitlyn Whitmer.

Catawba also placed two on the All-Conference Second Team.

LMU had three players receive conference awards, led by first team All-SAC selection Blaire Fowler, who finished in the top 10 in the league in hitting percentage, kills per set and services aces per set. She is joined by second-team selection Candace Richardson and All-Freshman honoree Allison Beavers.

Completing the All-Conference First Team were two student-athletes from Tusculum – junior Sam Underwood and sophomore Caitlyn Dean, the first-team libero.

Mars Hill placed two on the All-Conference second team, while Carson-Newman, Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry each had one member of the All-Conference Second Team and one of the All-Freshman Team.

Finally, Wingate's Shelton Collier was named the SAC Coach of the Year after leading his program to its sixth-straight regular season conference championship. Under Collier's watch, the Bulldogs closed the regular season with active streaks of 82-consecutive SAC wins and 50-straight regular season victories intact. Collier has now won the award five times during his tenure at Wingate.

C-N head coach Shannon Mincey on Nikki James:

"I am happy to see Nikki honored to the All-Sac team…It is unfortunate our seeding in the conference standings didn't allow her to be on the first team…I feel she is a uniquely gifted volleyball player and it is nice to see her recognized for her work ethic. It has been a pleasure to coach her throughout her career. She currently leads the nation in blocks and has helped our team lead the nation in blocks on multiple occasions. I am sure there will be many coaches happy to see her graduate."

C-N head coach Shannon Mincey on Lauren Santarelli:

"Lauren's jumping ability allows her to do many different things offensively…With our libero being injured in the beginning of the season, Lauren has been relied on to play all six rotations. She along with all her freshman teammates work hard, stay focused and desire to be better. Our team will celebrate with her that someone from our talented class was recognized to the all-freshman team."

SAC Player of the Year: Liz Willis, Wingate

SAC Freshman of the Year: Lexi Potter, Wingate

SAC Coach of the Year: Shelton Collier, Wingate

2011 SAC Volleyball All-Conference Teams

First Team

Jordan Raye, Catawba

Kaitlyn Whitmer, Catawba

Blaire Fowler, Lincoln Memorial

Caitlyn Dean, Tusculum

Sam Underwood, Tusculum

Anna Hilton, Wingate

Cory McGowan, Wingate