Lady Hornets dominate All-SWAC honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (bamastatesports.com) – The Southwestern Athletic Conference announced on Wednesday the 2016 All-SWAC volleyball teams and Alabama State came away as the resounding winners with four of the five large awards and six overall conference selections going toward the Lady Hornets’ way.
Alabama State (21-8 overall, 18-0 SWAC) completed the perfect regular season conference record in Tuesday’s win over Alcorn State and it showed out in the voting asJustus Tuiolosega, Jamie Coleman, Ni’yesha Brown and Bayle Bennett all picked up large awards.
Accolades were voted on by the league’s coaches and sports information directors.
“I’m elated,” said ASU head women’s volleyball coach Penny Lucas-White.
“I’m so happy for them because they’ve worked so hard on a consistent basis. We pushed them so hard. I told them today that although several were recognized, we couldn’t have got them without everybody pushing one another on an everyday basis. It’s the team that got them there. They challenged them every day.”
Coach White also discussed the importance of alumni from the prior teams that won two SWAC championships in 2013 and 2014 who have come back to support them.
“You saw so many alumni that were in the audience,” said Lucas-White. “They have poured into these girls. After that loss to Tennessee State (on Aug. 27), each of those girls who won those first two championships poured into them. They want to be a part of this team’s new legacy. I’m in awe of their commitment to support the team and show their love for Alabama State volleyball.”
Tuiolosega posted big numbers for the top-seeded and SWAC regular season champion Lady Hornets.
The Moreno, Calif. native was fourth in the league in assists per set (5.68), sending out 545 total assists in 93 total sets.
She also posted 157 digs and led the conference with 47 aces. Against Chicago State on September 10, she dished out a personal-high 46 assists in the four-set match.
Alabama State led with six members on the All-SWAC Teams, as Tuiolosega also collected First Team Setter honors.
Joining her on the First Team were Coleman (defensive specialist/libero), middle blocker/hitter Briana Dorsey, and Brown at outside hitter.
Bennett and Krysta Medearis each garnered second-team honors at outside hitter.
Coleman, a senior from Farmington Hills, Mich., posted a league-leading 434 digs, averaging 4.52 per frame. She chipped in 90 assists and 18 service aces as well.
Coleman, the preseason choice for defensive player of the year, led all players in weekly honors, earning defensive player of the week six times during the season.
Coleman also topped the 1,000 career dig milestone in Tuesday’s win against Alcorn State and now ranks second all-time in program history in digs with 1,006.
Brown was second in Alabama State’s multi-pronged attack unit with 247 kills, averaging 2.68 per stanza.
She also added in 57 digs and 41 total blocks as well. Her .229 attack percentage was fifth-best in the league. Brown was particularly strong during the second half of the season, posting double-digit kill totals in 11 of her last 13 matches.
Bennett posted 10 double-digit kill outings as she ended up with 225 in total.
The Crete, Ill. native also provided 200 digs, 29 service aces, 10 assists and 20 blocks.
