The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) released its 2012 Volleyball Awards on Wednesday afternoon, naming Gustavus Adolphus senior middle hitter Emily Phillips (Cleveland, Minn.) as one of the members of the 2012 Volleyball All-Conference Team.
St. Thomas sophomore Kelly Foley was voted the MIAC Volleyball Player-of-the-Year and Head Coach Thanh Pham received the MIAC Volleyball Coach-of-the-Year award. Bethel senior Val Smith was named the MIAC Volleyball Defensive Player-of-the-Year, while MIAC Volleyball Rookie-of-the-Year honors went to Concordia’s Olivia Wangensteen.
After the Tommies’ four All-MIAC selections, second-place Saint Benedict was next with three players honored, and Bethel also placed three on the All-Conference team. Concordia, St. Olaf, Carleton and Augsburg each had two All-MIAC selections, and Gustavus, Macalester, Saint Mary’s and St. Catherine were each represented by one player. The 22-member All-MIAC team – nominated and voted on by the league coaches – featured 10 seniors, five juniors, five sophomore and two first-year players.
Senior captain Emily Phillips makes her first career showing on the All-MIAC team. Phillips played in 107-of-109 sets this season, and led the team kills, attack percentage, and kills per set. In 28 matches, the Cleveland product recorded 273 kills (2.55 kps) for an attack percentage of .234. Defensively, the senior also recorded 61 blocks (15 solo) to finish second on the team. She had double-figure kills in 12 matches and hit .400 or better in five matches.
Within conference play, Emily ranked 13th in the league with 114 kills (2.85 kps). Her hitting percentage of .239 against league opponents also ranked 11th in the MIAC.
“Emily has made great strides since coming into this program,” said Head Coach Rachelle Dosch about her senior hitter. “From her freshman to senior year, she has been a strong offensive attacker for the Gusties – capping off her senior year with the highest attack percentage and kill total on the team. It was great to see Emily step up her game and finish on a strong note over the last couple weeks of the season.”
Over her four year career, Emily Phillips played in a total of 314 sets and 90 matches. She hit the floor with 725 kills (2.31 kps) and finished with a career attack percentage of .226.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the seventh annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for volleyball. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition. This year, Phillip’s fellow senior captain Erin Sherman (Golden Valley, Minn.) represents the Black and Gold on the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
Despite being plagued by injury throughout her career, Sherman played in a total of 76 matches and 253 sets. She made 99 digs (2.30 dps) this season and finished with a serve percentage of .964. Erin reached double-digit digs four times this year and registered a season-best 16 digs twice.
“Ever since Erin started in this program she’s been the epitome of team player and has always been an amazing teammate and rock on the team,” said Dosch about Sherman. “She’s a great player who has suffered a lot of injuries, yet has never failed to push through and stick with the team. Even though she couldn’t be on the court all the time, her guidance and leadership were invaluable.”