Tyma named Player of the Year, four Hawks earn All-Conference awards
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Junior Amy Tyma was named Player of the Year and a total of four Huntingdon volleyball players earned All-Conference or All-Division recognition with the release of the USA South All-Conference awards on Thursday.
Tyma is the first female Huntingdon student-athlete to be recognized as USA South Player of the Year in any sport since the Hawks joined the USA South in 2013.
"Words can't even paint the picture of the work she has put in especially during the spring and summer," Huntingdon head volleyball coach Latonia Brady said. "All of her extra work is the true key to an already talented player's continued improvement each season. She is such a special player for her teammates to battle with each game and a joy as a coach to keep challenging her mentally and physically. She truly has no limit to what she can accomplish during her time at Huntingdon."
Tyma was named first-team All-Conference, and along with junior Addison Genard, earned first-team West Division honors. Senior April Reese and sophomore Ashley Murphy were named second-team West Division.
After having just three West Division selections during the first five seasons in the conference, Huntingdon has produced four West Division players in each of the past two seasons.
"Each of them has worked to improve and they are all deserving of this recognition," Brady said. "Addison has been a game changer for our offense and she continues to improve as a threat from the middle. April has become a dominant force offensively and her defense has been impressive in every match. She has become one of the most amazing selfless leaders we have ever had. Ashley has worked so hard to develop the setter-hitter connections and it has paid off this year. She is a constant voice on the court and has really stepped up as a leader."
The group has helped lead the Hawks to the USA South Tournament semifinals for the first time. The Hawks (23-14) will play Averett University on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (Central). The winner will advance to the conference championship match on Saturday.
This is the third season Tyma has earned recognition from the conference. Tyma, who last season became the Hawks' first USA South All-Conference selection, is the program's first two-time All-Conference performer in the USA South. She is also the first Huntingdon volleyball player to earn first-team West Division honors during each of her first three seasons.
Tyma, who has been ranked as high as second in Division III in kills this season, is currently third with 524 kills and leads the USA South by 132 kills. Since the NCAA went to its current scoring format in 2008, she is the first Huntingdon player to record 500 kills in a season.
Her .299 hitting percentage leads Division III for players with more than 1,000 attacks and she leads the USA South with 3.82 kills per set, is fourth in the conference with 545 digs and also has 56 blocks and 47 aces.
This is Genard's second season to be recognized as a West Division selection. She was a second-team West Division selection last season. Genard leads the Hawks and is second in the conference with 98 blocks. She is third on Huntingdon's team and 11th in the conference with 298 kills and her 36 aces are third for the Hawks. She had a career-high 16 kills against Berea this season and a season-high six blocks against Rhodes.
Reese is second on the team with 362 kills, 429 digs and 60 blocks. She ranks third in the conference in kills, 12th in the conference in digs and 14th in the conference in blocks. Reese has double-digit kills in 20 matches this season, including a career-high 18 kills at Covenant. She has recorded double-digit digs in 25 matches, including a career-high 25 digs against Erskine.
Murphy leads the Hawks and is third in the USA South with 851 assists this season. She is the first Hawk to record more than 800 assists in a season since the NCAA went to its current scoring format in 2008. She also has 175 digs and 24 aces this season. She has recorded double-digit assists in 32 matches this season, 20 or more assists in 26 matches and 30 or more assists in 12 matches, including a career-high 39 assists against Albany State.
Senior Taylor Wright was named to the All-Sportsmanship team.
Averett's Lauren Montren earned Rookie of the Year honors and Meredith's Lauren Phillips was selected as the Libero of the Year. Maryville's Kandis Schram was named Coach of the Year.
To view the complete All-Conference awards, click here.