LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - In his first season at the helm for the #5 Pirates, Head Coach Don Flora's outstanding work has not gone unnoticed by his peers as he was named the SCAC Co-Coach of the Year, sharing the honor with Trinity's Julie Jenkins. 

Flora led Southwestern to their best start ever as the Pirates remained undefeated through the first 19 matches. SU ended the regular season at 29-3 overall and 12-2 in the SCAC and remained in the top five nationally the majority of the year. 

The Pirates also had two first team selections in Nikki Welch and Kate Mitchell. Welch, a senior setter from Austin, Texas, leads the conference in assists per set. Her 11 assists per set also ranks her third in the nation and is leading the nation in total assists with 1264 on the year. 

Mitchell, a junior outside hitter from Roseville, California, is third in the conference in kills (381) and posted a .299 attack percentage against conference opponents. She also ranks in the top-10 in block assists (68) and total blocks (70).

Andie Alford (DS/L) and Kirby Kincannon (MB) were also named in the release as All-SCAC Second Team selections. Alford is third in the SCAC in total digs (551), a mark that also ranks her 54th in the nation. 

Kincannon is in the top-100 in the nation in hitting percentage and sixth in the SCAC at .288. She also ranks in the top five in the league in solo blocks (22), block assists (74), total blocks (96) and blocks per set (0.87).

Southwestern enters the postseason as the No. 2 seed at the SCAC Championship this weekend. The Pirates will face the winner of the Texas Lutheran/Colorado College match at 6 p.m. in Shreveport, Louisiana.