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Southwestern University

SOUTHWESTERN TOPS IN THREE OF FOUR MAJOR AWARDS IN 2009 ALL-SCAC VOLLEYBALL VOTING

SOUTHWESTERN TOPS IN THREE OF FOUR MAJOR AWARDS IN 2009 ALL-SCAC VOLLEYBALL VOTING
Posted: Nov 06, 2009

ATLANTA, Ga. – The 12th-ranked Southwestern University Pirates, winners of 28 straight matches and the top seed for this weekend’s Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament, was rewarded for its highly successful season by winning three of the league’s four major postseason awards in exclusive all-conference voting by the head coaches of the SCAC.

Audra Gentry (pictured, left) was named the SCAC Player-of-the-Year for the second consecutive year while teammate Samantha Lingamfelter (pictured, right) was named the league’s Backrow Player-of-the-Year. She also earned Backrow Player-of-the-Year in 2007 and 2008. Southwestern head coach Hannah Long was also tabbed as the SCAC Coach-of-the-Year for the second straight season.

In the same balloting, Millsaps College first-year player Raven Scott was selected as the league’s Freshman-of-the-Year.

Gentry, a senior outside hitter from Albuquerque, N.M., led the team and the conference in kills per set (3.81) while finishing second on the team in digs per set (3.31). Gentry’s 358 kills also led the team. A team captain, Gentry posted 27 total blocks and 12 service aces in leading Southwestern to a league-best 15-0 conference mark; 30-3 record overall. She is the third different Southwestern player and program’s fourth overall SCAC Player-of-the-Year. A Third Team All-America selection last season, Gentry is the first player to earn SCAC Player-of-the-Year honors in back-to-back seasons since Trinity University’s Amy Barrett did so in 1995 and 1996.

Five different players received votes for Player-of-the-Year, led by Gentry who was tabbed on five of the coaches’ ballots. Emily Perkins of Colorado College and Christina Nicholls of Southwestern received two votes each while Jessi Fleming of Austin College and Lindsay Thompson of Southwestern received one vote each.

Lingamfelter, a senior libero from New Braunfels, Texas, was selected as the league’s Backrow Player-of-the-Year for the third consecutive season - becoming the first player to win three consecutive Backrow Player-of-the-Year honors since the award was instituted in 2004. She tallied 653 digs and led the league in digs per set with 5.68 during the regular season. An Honorable Mention All-America selection last season, Lingamfelter is the league’s all-time career leader in total digs and has 2,758 heading into this weekend’s conference tournament.

Lingamfelter received eight votes from the coaches in earning the Backrow Player-of-the-Year award, beating out Laura Broughton of Centre College, Kim Larson of Hendrix College and Kylee Lehrman of DePauw who all received one vote.

Scott, a first-year right side from Boutte, La., led the Majors with 38 solo blocks while finishing with a .205 hitting percentage and finished fourth on the team with 194 kills. Her 0.89 blocks per set ranked second on the team and helped the Majors to a fourth-place national rank in the category during the regular season. Scott is the first player from Millsaps to earn the league’s Freshman-of-the-Year award.

Scott just edged out DePauw University’s Katie Petrovich for the award. Scott received five votes in earning FOTY honors, just one more than Petrovich. Nita Kavouspour of Austin College received the remaining two votes.

Head Coach Hannah Long led Southwestern to a 15-0 conference mark; 30-3 overall record (the team’s fifth-straight 30+ win season), and a first-place finish during the 2009 SCAC regular season. The Pirates entered the post-season on a 28-match win streak. In her six seasons in Georgetown, Long has compiled a 188-44 overall record and an 82-16 record in SCAC play. The SCAC Coach-of-the-Year in 2005 and 2008, she is the first Southwestern coach to earn the honor three times. Last year, Long led the Pirates to an overall record of 36-5 (14-1 SCAC) while receiving an at-large bid and a fourth straight appearance to the NCAA Division III championship tournament where the Pirates advanced to the South Regional finals.

Long received seven votes from her peers in the COTY voting. Deb Zellers of DePauw picked up three votes while Rick Swan of Colorado College received one vote.