BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- SoCon Player of the Year Elizabeth Neisler has one more accolade she can add to an already stellar season, as she was named to the American Volleyball Coaches’ Association (AVCA) South All-Region Team, announced Tuesday. She is one of only four honorees on the 14-person team not from an SEC school and is the only one from the Southern Conference. Teammate Lauren Hutchinson earned honorable mention on the team as well.
Elizabeth Neisler finished the season with 452 kills, the third-highest single season total in school history. She became the eighth Samford Bulldog to surpass 1,000 kills in her career, passing the milestone in the SoCon Tournament semifinal match against Furman.
Of those eight, she is only the third to break 1,000 during their junior season. She ranks fourth at Samford in single-season attacks (1,111) and eighth in career attacks (2,654).
Out of 250 ranked Division I individuals, she currently ranks 55th in kills per set (3.93) and 65th in points per set (4.38). She was named SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for October and set new personal bests in single-match attack percentage (.652), digs (12) and total blocks (6).
Lauren Hutchinson earned honorable mention on the South All-Region Team after a standout 2011 season that saw her shatter the Samford single-season hitting percentage record, finishing with a .428 clip from 379 kills, 75 errors and 710 attacks. She finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation in hitting percentage after battling back and forth with fellow middle blocker Katie Murphy for the top spot all season. She was named the SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for September after helping lead the team to a 14-2 record during the month. After battling through injuries last season, the Kennesaw, Ga., native set new personal bests this season in numerous categories, including kills (20), attack percentage (.722) and solo blocks (3). Her season total of 91 assisted blocks also ties her for ninth all-time at Samford.