SEWARD, Neb. – The Great Plains Athletic Conference announced the Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC All-Conference Teams Wednesday. Three members of the Concordia volleyball team have been named to the first team all-GPAC team while head coach Scott Mattera was named one of the tri-head coaches of the year. Four more student-athletes were selected to receive all-conference honors, two to the second team and two more on the honorable mention team.
Selected to the first team all-GPAC team were junior Alayna Kavanaugh, sophomore Jocelyn Garcia and sophomore Annie Friesen. Receiving second team accolades were senior Claire White and junior Paige Getz. On the honorable mention team were juniors Tiegen Skains and Taylor Workman.
Head coach Mattera was selected as one of the tri-head coaches of the year. In his fourth year as head coach, Mattera has put built a team that has made historic marks at Concordia. For the first time, the Concordia volleyball team is heading to the NAIA Tournament after being the runner-up in the GPAC Tournament. The squad has also put together a sixth-best winning season. The 26 wins this year have been the most since 1996 when the squad reached 28 victories.
Kavanagh, a junior from Lincoln, Neb., has been selected to the all-conference first team for the second time in her career. The setter has dished out a total of 1,296 assists this year, which is the second-best in the GPAC, and averages 10.8 assists per set, also second in the GPAC. Kavanagh has helped a Bulldog attacking crew that has put together a season .227 hitting percentage. The junior also has a .228 hitting percentage, recording 111 kills. Kavanaugh has been named the GPAC Setter of the Week twice this season.
Garcia, a sophomore from Brighton, Colo., received her first all-conference selection this year. The libero for the Bulldogs averages 4.4 digs a set and has amassed 535 total digs. Garcia has also proven to be an important element in Concordia’s serving game. The sophomore has recorded 69 service aces (second-most in GPAC and 29th in the country) and averages .45 aces per set (tied for second in GPAC). Garcia has been named the GPAC Defensive Player of the week twice this season.
Friesen, a sophomore from Wichita, Kan., has been received all-GPAC honors for the first time in her career. As one of Concordia’s middles, Friesen has put together a team-best .382 hitting percentage which ranks third in the GPAC. Connecting with Kavanaugh on quick sets, the sophomore is one of the most difficult attackers in the GPAC to defend. Friesen also leads the Bulldogs in blocks, averaging .89 a set and registering 108 total this year.
White, a senior from Exeter, Neb., has been named to the all-GPAC second team. This is her third all-conference selection. White was previously named to the honorable mention team in 2013 and the first team in 2014. White has made her mark in Concordia volleyball, recording her 1,000th kill this season. She has put up 317 kills so far this season and averages a team-best 2.78 a set. White also excels in the serving category. With the second-best team service ace numbers, the senior averages .34 a set and has 49 total.
Getz, a junior from Paola, Kan., has now been selected to an all-conference team for the second time. Getz received all-GPAC honorable mention honors last season and second-team honors this season. The junior has put 332 kills together this season, which leads the team. As an outside attacker, Getz has also recorded 46 total blocks, averaging .38 a set. She has also been a part of a Bulldog squad that has averages 14 kills a set. Against York College, Getz recorded a match-high 20 kills and committed just three errors.
Skains, a junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., has been named to the honorable mention team for the second straight season. The junior owns a .218 attack percentage and averages 2.3 kills a set. Skains also has blocked 50 opponent attacks. The right side hitter has had a match-high 14 kills twice this year, once at Northwestern and once against Morningside. In each of those contests, Skains hit at least .320 throughout the match.
Workman, a junior from Lincoln, Neb., has received her first all-GPAC honor this year on the honorable mention team. Workman has been a consistent attacker for the Bulldogs this season, hitting .333 and averaging 1.9 kills a set. The junior hit a match-high 14 kills against Montana Tech and made just three errors in the match. In five different contests, Workman has committed no errors with at least eight attempts. She also averages .60 blocks a set, amassing 78 total blocks.
The No. 16 Concordia volleyball (26-8, 12-4 GPAC) team will compete in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament. The match will be held at home in Walz Arena against Olivet Nazarene with first serve slated for 1:30 p.m.
