HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – On the eve of the 2021 Great American Conference Volleyball Championships, the league announced its All-Conference teams, year-end individual award winners and its scholar-athlete recipients. The coaches voted Oklahoma Baptist outside hitter Malia Leatherland as Offensive Player of the Year, Henderson State’s Mackenzie Thoman as Defensive Player of the Year, Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Addison Wimmer its Freshman of the Year and Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Allie Hoang, Markenzie Benoit and Josh Collins as the Setter, Newcomer and Coach of the Year, respectively. Harding’s Kellie McKinnon received the league’s Elite Scholar Athlete honor.
2021 Volleyball All-GAC Awards
Leatherland became the third two-time Offensive Player of the Year in league history as she joined former Harding Lady Bisons’ Mollie Arnold and Zoe Hardin. She led the nationally-ranked Bisons to their third-straight regular season title. She ranked in the top three in the GAC in both kills and points per set. She set the league’s career record for points and enters the GAC Championships 20 kills shy of breaking the record of 1,662 set by former SWOSU standout Carly Zak.
Thoman repeated as Defensive Player of the Year she ranked second in the GAC in both total digs and digs per set. This season she became the 13
th player in GAC history to reach the 1,500-dig total for a career. Wimmer became the first Ranger named Freshman of the Year. She ranked in the top five in both kills and points per set. She led the GAC with 16 double-doubles.
Hoang led the GAC in total assists, ranked fourth in service aces and eighth in double-doubles. She moved in to fifth place on the GAC’s all-time assist list. Benoit led the conference with a .357 attack percentage. She also placed fifth in blocks and seventh in points. Collins collected his second Coach of the Year accolade. He previously won in 2018.
Leatherland claimed a unanimous spot to the All-GAC First Team. Hoang, Benoit and Thoman all made the First Team. The Reddies’ Violeta Mendoza Quintana joined Thoman on the First Team. Northwestern Oklahoma State outside hitter Kaydee Honeycutt, Harding setter Sarah Morehead and Arkansas Tech outside hitter/defensive specialist Tymber Riley rounded out the eight-member First Team. Quintana placed second in the GAC in points per set; Honeycutt finished the regular season as the GAC leader in both kills per set and points per set; Morehead led the conference in assists per set; Riley ranked in the top five in both kills and points per set.
Wimmer headlined the All-GAC Second Team. East Central’s Thalianette Garcia, Emma Strickland and Alejandra Delgado, Oklahoma Baptist’s Taneyah Brown and Kaylee Buell, Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Ruthie Forson and Arkansas Tech’s Haylee Paladini joined Wimmer on the Second Team.
The All-GAC Honorable Mention Team consisted of Harding’s McKinnon and Ally Stoner, Oklahoma Baptist’s
Avery Hellmuth and Audrey Poupard, Ouachita’s Emily Low and Lexie Castillow, Arkansas-Monticello’s Jamie Agnew, Henderson State’s Christiane Uzoh, Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Grace Shehadeh, Southern Arkansas’ Morgan Schuster, Southern Nazarene’s Sunny Batschelett and Southwestern Oklahoma State’s MacKenzie Harless.
A total of 28 student-athletes achieved the Distinguished Scholar-Athlete honor. Arkansas Tech led with eight in Paladini, Riley, Madison Grantham, Addison Masters, Emily Ragsdale, Maggie Schlueter, Megan Solberg and Heather Thomas. Henderson State followed with five - Thoman, Britney Dagley, Mattison Fairchild, Tyasia McGruder and Kaitlyn Sykes. Southwestern Oklahoma State, with Harless, Hoang, Sophia DeSantiago and Maicee Morgan, had four Distinguished Scholar-Athlete selections. Harding had three honorees - Morehead, Kinley Schnell and Emma Winiger – as did Southern Nazarene with Bailey Grimes, Logan Matthews and Grace Miracle. East Central - with Sydney Dungen and Ilani Myers, Oklahoma Baptist - with Rylen Moore and Taryn Weber and Southeastern Oklahoma State, with Crislynn Autry and Jessica Hardin, all saw two recognized as Distinguished Scholar-Athletes.