SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford’s Lauren Deaton was named the Southern Conference Volleyball Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season. In addition, Mercer’s Derek Schroeder was named coach of the year and Western Carolina freshman Destinee Dorsey was selected as libero of the year. Samford’s Kenya McQuirter earned the Rayna Taylor Award, given annually to the league’s freshman of the year.

Deaton claims the award, Samford’s second consecutive player of the year nod and fifth overall, after leading the Bulldogs to a 13-3 mark in conference play en route to a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference championship. The Memphis, Tennessee, native led Samford with 297 kills and led the league with 4.64 kills per set. She added 189 digs, 2.95 per set, in her impressive junior campaign. A preseason all-conference selection, Deaton was the SoCon Offensive Player of the Week twice. She also tallied 11 double-doubles on the year, all of which came against SoCon opposition.    

Schroeder earns coach of the year honors for the first time in his career and becomes the first Mercer volleyball coach honored with the award since the Bears joined in the league in 2014-15. Schroeder, in his fourth season as the Bears’ head coach, guided Mercer, picked to finish sixth in the preseason, to a 13-3 record and a share of the regular-season title. The Bears earned the No. 2 seed in the SoCon Championship.
 
Samford, Western Carolina and Wofford led the way with four postseason all-conference or all-freshman selections each. In addition to first-team all-conference Deaton and all-freshman pick McQuirter, who was second on the team behind Deaton with 149 kills to earn freshman of the year honors, setter Corinne Meglic and Sierra Rayzor were honored on the seven-member all-conference second team. Meglic, a redshirt junior, led the league in assists per set, averaging 11.44, and was named the SoCon Setter of the Week twice for her efforts. Rayzor, a senior middle blocker, hit .289 with 122 kills.

Western Carolina placed outside hitter Merry Gebel on the first team, while Dorsey was named to the second team. Gebel was the only player in the top 10 in the league in both kills and digs, averaging 3.78 kills per set, third amongst league players, and 3.62 digs per set, ninth in the league. Dorsey, a three-time defensive player of the week, led the league with 5.21 digs per set and becomes the first freshman to win libero of the year since ETSU’s Marija Popovic in 2017. After not winning a libero of the year honor since the award was added in 2004, a Western Carolina player has won it in back-to-back years as former Catamount Meagan Sanchez was honored in 2019.

Wofford middle blocker Riley Coonan earned a spot on the first team, while fellow middle blocker Sarah Barham, a freshman, was honored on the second team. Barham led the league with a .379 hitting percentage, while Coonan was just behind in third, hitting .312 on the year.

Mercer added two on the first team, placing sophomore middle hitter Jaida Howell and junior outside hitter Annie Karle on the squad. Howell led the league in blocks (83) and blocks per set (1.4) and was second amongst league players in hitting percentage (.328), while Karle averaged 3.19 assists per set. Brittany Major, a second-team pick, averaged 2.29 kills per set and 2.90 digs per set for the Bears.

After back-to-back seasons on the second team, The Citadel’s Sharlissa De Jesus becomes the first Citadel volleyball player named to the first team. De Jesus led the league in service aces (35) and total kills (314), trailing only Deaton in kills per set (3.97), and was ninth in hitting percentage (.268). Mellanie King, who averaged 3.30 kills per set, was named to the second team.

Furman’s Neci Harris earned a spot on the first team. The junior middle blocker led Furman in kills per set (3.20), good for sixth in the league, and hitting percentage (.311), placing her fourth amongst league players.  

ETSU’s Sara Esposito was top 10 in the league in kills (164) and aces (19) and was named to the second team.

Along with McQuirter, the all-freshman team includes ETSU’s Jenna Forster, Furman’s Mikaela Schultz, Western Carolina’s Dorsey and Julia Gardon, and Wofford’s Barham and Emily Hodsdon.

The Southern Conference Volleyball Championship begins Friday, April 2, with a pair of semifinal matches, with the championship final set for Saturday, April 3, at 4 p.m. CT. No. 1 seed Samford hosts No. 4 seed Wofford in the first semifinal, set for 4 p.m. CT, followed by No. 2 Mercer and No. 3 Western Carolina at 6:30 p.m. CT. All three matches will be held in Samford’s Pete Hanna Center and all will be broadcast on ESPN+.

2020-21 All-Southern Conference Volleyball Teams and Awards

Player of the Year – Lauren Deaton, Samford, Jr., OH
Libero of the Year – Destinee Dorsey, Western Carolina, Fr.
Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year – Kenya McQuirter, Samford, OH
Coach of the Year – Derek Schroeder, Mercer
 
All-SoCon First Team
Sharlissa De Jesus, The Citadel, Sr., OH
Neci Harris, Furman, Jr., MB
Jaida Howell, Mercer, So., MH
Annie Karle, Mercer, Jr., OH
Lauren Deaton, Samford, Jr., OH
Merry Gebel, Western Carolina, Jr., OH
Riley Coonan, Wofford, Sr., MB
 
All-SoCon Second Team
Mellanie King, The Citadel, Sr., OH
Sara Esposito, ETSU, Jr., RS/OH
Brittany Major, Mercer, Jr., OH
Corinne Meglic, Samford, R-Jr., S
Sierra Rayzor, Samford, Sr., MB
Destinee Dorsey, Western Carolina, Fr., L
Sarah Barham, Wofford, MB, Fr.
 
All-Freshman Team
Jenna Forster, ETSU, RS
Mikaela Schultz, Furman, OH
Kenya McQuirter, Samford, OH
Destinee Dorsey, Western Carolina, L
Julia Gardon, Western Carolina, OH
Sarah Barham, Wofford, MB
Emily Hodsdon, Wofford, S