SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford’s Kelsi Hobbs was named the Southern Conference Volleyball Player of the Year for the 2019 season. In addition, Western Carolina’s Karen Glover was named coach of the year and Catamount senior Meagan Sanchez was selected as libero of the year. ETSU’s Olivia Cunningham earned the Rayna Taylor Award, given annually to the league’s freshman of the year.
Hobbs claims the award after leading the Bulldogs to a 15-1 mark in conference play en route to the regular-season SoCon title. The Hoover, Alabama, native led Samford with 397 kills, nearly four kills per set, both conference bests. She added 236 digs, 2.31 per set, and 52 blocks in her impressive senior campaign. A preseason all-conference selection, Hobbs was the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week three times. She also tallied eight double-doubles on the year, including five in conference play. Hobbs is Samford’s fourth player of the year and first since Michaela Reesor in 2013.
Glover earns coach of the year honors for the second time in her career and first since 2011 after guiding Western Carolina, picked to finish eighth in the preseason, to an 11-5 record in league play and the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Championship. The Catamounts recorded eight sweeps on the season, including five in conference play, and four of their five conference losses came to Samford or ETSU, the two teams who finished ahead of Western Carolina in the conference.
ETSU led the conference with eight postseason awards, including Cunningham’s freshman of the year nod. The native of Knoxville, Tennessee, led the league in service aces per set (0.45) and was third in kills per set (3.57). Two Bucs, senior middle blocker Kaela Massey and libero Marija Popovic, were named to the seven-member all-conference first team. Massey, a preseason all-conference selection, was second in the league in hitting percentage (.339), while Popovic, a two-time libero of the year, was second amongst league players with 4.37 digs per set.
Furman added two on the first team, placing middle blockers Neci Harris and Courtney Hoffman on the squad. Harris, a sophomore, led the Paladins with a .321 hitting percentage, third in the league, while Hoffman’s .305 mark was just behind in fifth. Samford outside hitter Lauren Deaton, the 2018 Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year and a 2019 preseason all-conference selection, joined Hobbs on the first team. Deaton, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, amassed 387 kills, second in the league only to Hobbs. Sanchez, the libero of the year, rounded out the first team. The senior from Bristow, Virginia, led the league in digs, tallying 596, 139 more than another other league player. She was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week seven times this season and became one of just two SoCon players to earn a weekly award eight times.
The second team also featured seven players, led by two selections each from ETSU and Wofford. Cunningham was joined by setter Emily Arnold, who led ETSU and was second in the league with 1,104 assists in her freshman campaign. Wofford placed junior middle blocker Riley Coonan and senior outside hitter Catie Cronister on the second team. Coonan led the league in hitting percentage (.361) and in blocks (120). Cronister, who led the Terriers with 370 kills, was in the top 10 in kills per set and service aces. The Citadel’s Sharlissa De Jesus sits second in the league in service aces (25) and her 318 kills led the Bulldogs, who won a program-best four conference matches for the second season in a row. Furman’s Nicole Mack was recognized after leading the Paladins in kills (351), while Western Carolina outside hitter Merry Gebel made the team after positing 364 kills and 35 aces on the season, both top-10 amongst conference players.
Along with Cunningham, the all-freshman team includes Arnold and teammate Lauren Hatch, Furman’s Andrea Aceveda, Mercer’s Jaida Howell, Samford’s Emily Naubert and Wofford’s Meghan Yaffa.
The Southern Conference Volleyball Championship began Tuesday, Nov. 19, when The Citadel, the No. 8 seed, swept No. 9 Chattanooga in the first-round matchup in Charleston, South Carolina. The remainder of the tournament will take place Nov. 22-24 on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Quarterfinal action kicks off at 11 a.m. Friday with a showdown between host school Wofford, the No. 4 seed, and fifth-seeded Furman. Samford is the top seed in the tournament and will face The Citadel at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The championship match is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m.
2019 All-Southern Conference Volleyball Teams and Awards
Player of the Year – Kelsi Hobbs, Samford, Sr., RS
Libero of the Year – Meagan Sanchez, Western Carolina, Sr.
Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year – Olivia Cunningham, ETSU, OH
Coach of the Year – Karen Glover, Western Carolina
All-SoCon First Team
Kaela Massey, ETSU, Sr., MB
Marija Popovic, ETSU, Jr., L
Neci Harris, Furman, So., MB
Courtney Hoffman, Furman, R-Jr., MB
Lauren Deaton, Samford, So., OH
Kelsi Hobbs, Samford, Sr., OH
Meagan Sanchez, Western Carolina, Sr., L
All-SoCon Second Team
Sharlissa De Jesus, The Citadel, Jr., OH
Emily Arnold, ETSU, Fr., S
Olivia Cunningham, ETSU, Fr., OH
Nicole Mack, Furman, R-Jr., OH
Merry Gebel, Western Carolina, So., OH
Riley Coonan, Wofford, Jr., MB
Catie Cronister, Wofford, Sr., OH
All-Freshman Team
Emily Arnold, ETSU, S
Olivia Cunningham, ETSU, OH
Lauren Hatch, ETSU, OH
Andrea Aceveda, Furman, L
Jaida Howell, Mercer, MB
Emily Naubert, Samford, L
Meghan Yaffa, Wofford, OH
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