SPARTANBURG, S.C. – UNCG’s Kayla White was named the Southern Conference Volleyball Player of the Year for the 2021 season. In addition, the Spartans’ Corey Carlin was named coach of the year and Mercer graduate Megan Smith was selected as libero of the year. The Citadel’s Ali Ruffin earned the Rayna Taylor Award, given annually to the league’s freshman of the year.
 
White claims the award, UNCG’s second in program history and first since Ashley Muench was Co-Player of the Year in 2017, after leading UNCG to a 12-4 mark in conference play en route to a share of the regular-season title and the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference championship. The Montgomery, Alabama, native leads the league with 437 kills. Her 47 service aces also lead the league, while she sits in third in kills per set (3.94) and eighth in digs per set (3.63). The transfer from Metro State was the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week four times and the SoCon Offensive Player of the Month for both September and October. She has tallied 21 double-doubles on the year, 14 of which came against SoCon opposition.
 
Carlin earns coach of the year honors for the first time in his career and becomes the first UNCG volleyball coach honored with the award. Carlin, in his eighth season as the Spartans’ head coach, has guided UNCG, picked to finish last in the preseason, to a 23-6 overall record.
 
Smith becomes the first Mercer player to be tabbed as Libero of the Year. The graduate has averaged 4.52 digs per set as Mercer is 16-11 on the season and went 12-4 in league play, earning a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship.
 
Ruffin earns the first Freshman of the Year honor for The Citadel. She has totaled 234 kills on the year.
 
The Citadel, ETSU, Mercer, Samford and Wofford lead the way with three postseason all-conference or all-freshman selections each. Mercer and UNCG each placed two on the seven-member all-conference first team. In addition to White, UNCG setter Gabriela McHugh was honored after dishing out 1,169 assists during the regular season (10.53 per set), a league best and good enough for fifth in Division I. McHugh was a four-time SoCon Setter of the Week and the Setter of the Month in September.
 
Mercer saw a pair of seniors earn first-team honors as middle blocker Rayanne de Oliveira and outside hitter Annie Karle were recognized. de Oliveira is second in the league in hitting percentage (.295), fifth in service aces per set (0.37) and sixth in blocks per set (1.02), while Karle, a preseason all-conference pick, led the Bears with 2.81 kills per set.
 
The Citadel outside hitter Sharlissa De Jesus repeats as a first-team selection and becomes the first SoCon player to earn an all-conference nod in five straight seasons after being an All-Freshman selection in 2017, a second-team all-conference selection in 2018 and 2019 and a first team selection in 20202-21. The senior leads the league with 4.27 kills per set and is fourth in service aces per set (0.40) and 10^th in digs per set (3.34). ETSU’s Sara Esposito claimed a spot on the first team after averaging 3.27 kills per set for the Bucs. Samford outside hitter Kenya McQuirter, the 2020-21 Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year, earns a spot on the first team for the second consecutive season. The redshirt sophomore averages 4.19 kills per set, second in the SoCon behind De Jesus.
 
The second team, which features eight players due to a tie in the voting, comprises players from seven different league teams, led by Wofford with a pair of selections. Sophomores Sarah Barham, a middle blocker, and Emily Hodsdon, a setter, were honored. Barham is hitting .285 on the season, fourth amongst league players, while tallying 1.15 blocks per contest, second in the league. Hodsdon, a three-time Setter of the Week, averages 9.78 assists per set to lead the Terriers and was seventh in the league with 0.34 service aces per set.
 
ETSU graduate Josannah Vazquez leads the Bucs with 3.33 kills per set to claim a spot on the all-conference second team and was joined by Furman’s Neci Harris, who is hitting .271, seventh in the league, in her senior campaign. Smith, the Libero of the Year, was a second-team selection for Mercer, while Lauren Deaton, the 2020-21 SoCon Player of the Year, earned a spot for Samford after averaging 3.45 kills per set. Chattanooga’s Maia Rackel and Western Carolina’s Merry Gebel rounded out the second team. Rackel’s 3.09 kills per set led the Mocs offensively, while Gebel’s 3.56 kills per set lead the Catamounts and was fourth amongst league players.

Along with Ruffin, the all-freshman team includes The Citadel’s Belle Hogan, ETSU’s Caroline Dykes, Furman’s Bella Tolone, Samford’s Kate Wonus, Western Carolina’s Bailey Hartsough and Wofford’s Sarah MacLean.
 
After a first-round game on Monday saw No. 9 Furman down No. 8 Chattanooga, 3-2, The Southern Conference Volleyball Championship continues Friday, Nov. 19, with four quarterfinal matches. Saturday features a pair of semifinal matches, with the championship final set for Sunday, Nov. 21, at 4 p.m. CT. All seven matches will be held in Samford’s Pete Hanna Center and all will be broadcast on ESPN+.

2021 All-Southern Conference Volleyball Teams and Awards

Player of the Year – Kayla White, UNCG, 5^th, OH
Libero of the Year – Megan Smith, Gr., Mercer
Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year – Ali Ruffin, The Citadel, OH
Coach of the Year – Corey Carlin, UNCG
 
All-SoCon First Team
Sharlissa De Jesus, The Citadel, Sr., OH
Sara Esposito, ETSU, Sr., RS/OH
Rayanne de Oliveira, Mercer, Sr., MB
Annie Karle, Mercer, Sr., OH
Gabriela McHugh, UNCG, Jr., S
Kayla White, UNCG, 5^th, OH
Kenya McQuirter, Samford, R-So., OH
 
All-SoCon Second Team
Josannah Vazquez, ETSU, Gr., OH
Neci Harris, Furman, Sr., MB
Megan Smith, Mercer, Gr., LIB
Lauren Deaton, Samford, Sr., OH
Maia Rackel, Chattanooga, Sr., MB/RS/OH
Merry Gebel, Western Carolina, Sr, OH
Sarah Barham, Wofford, So., MB
Emily Hodsdon, Wofford, So., S
 
All-Freshman Team
Belle Hogan, The Citadel, S
Ali Ruffin, The Citadel, OH
Caroline Dykes, ETSU, S
Bella Tolone, Furman, OH
Kate Wonus, Samford, MB
Bailey Hartsough, Western Carolina, OH
Sarah MacLean, Wofford, MB