It was an encore for Erinn Adam.
For the second time in her career, the Bloomington South grad and fifth-year senior has been named an NAIA All-American, earning third-team honors after being selected as the second-team in 2020.
There are 14 members in each of the first three All-America teams.
Adam, who was named River States Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, was also a NAIA All-Region roster.
She helped the Cougars to a 28-9 record, including a 16-1 league run. The Cougars won the 2021 regular season and tournament championship, making their seventh consecutive NAIA Women’s Volleyball Championship appearance.
The middle batter finished the year with 369 kills and 145 blocks, leaving as the all-time program leader in blocks (582) and second in career kills (1,188).
Adam was also named to the River State Conference Scholar-Athlete Team.
DeMier ensures success Racer
Bloomington South grad and freshman setter Bailey DeMier finished the regular season as the Ohio Valley Conference leader in her position’s major statistical categories and as an All-OVC Second Team roster.
She finished the season with 1,270 assists (the third most by a freshman in school history), averaging 11.24 per set, finishing 10th in the country. She also had 74 kills, 23 blocks, led the team in aces with 27 and was No. 3 in digs with 289.
DeMier also helped Murray State to a .213 team hitting efficiency, which was third in the OVC.
She has provided more than 30 assists in all but one game this season and recorded a team-best 12 double-doubles of the year.
Murray State took a record of 17-11 in the OVC tournament, beating UT-Martin before falling to eventual champion Southeast Missouri State in four points, even as DeMier amassed 54 assists.
Anderson an All-American
A Bloomington South graduate, Lucy Anderson had a great junior season with Denison, finishing as one of the first two All-Americans in the program’s history.
The junior middle hitter was named a 2021 American Volleyball Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III Third-Team All-American.
Anderson was 30th in Division III in blocks per set (1.03), and was 38th in batting percentage (0.352), 47th in points per set (4.25) and 48th in total blocks (96). She also added 287 kills and 42 service aces.
She took a massive win in the 3-2 win that took the North Coast Athletic Conference regular season title, with a score of 0.531 percent, a record 18 kills and a career best in blocks with 10.
Both Anderson and Rodriguez were also named First-Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference last season and made the AVCA All-Region 7 team, while Anderson became the first Denison volleyball player to earn the NCAC Player of the Year recognition.
The Big Red finished 19-7 and was upset in the first round of the league tournament.
Aces high with Freeman
Blakeley Freeman of Bloomington North earned a starting libero role for a resurgent Evansville volleyball program, which ran for a sub-.500 season, finishing 21-12 (9-9 in the Missouri Valley) and earning a berth in the National Invitational Volleyball Tournament.
It was Evansville’s first season with 20 wins since 1988.
Freeman, a freshman, came second on the team in digs (285) with 2.69 per set. She also fired 17 aces and had 76 assists.
The Aces defeated Sam Houston and Bradley before falling to Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Freeman had 13 digs in a sweep of Sam Houston and 23 in the 3-1 win over Bradley.
Zemlyak a hit at Franklin
Sophomore middle batter and Edgewood grad Alyssa Zemlyak played 81 sets in 24 games for Franklin College. She had 133 kills (fourth on the team) and was the No. 2 batting percentage of .201. She also had 29 blocks and 25 digs.
She had a season high of 12 kills in 16 swings in a sweep of Marietta and had 11 kills in a five-set win over Berea. She had nine kills and hit .353 in her last game of the season with the Grizzlies finishing 11-15.
Fisher at IU Southeast
Former Bloomington North standout Makendri Fisher, a junior middle blocker, appeared in 40 sets in 20 games, racking up 32 kills, 10 digs and 17 blocks. She earned one start and racked up seven kills in a streak from Asbury a season high.
Fisher was the honorary champion of the Grenadiers. The team member who best represents the NAIA’s five character values of respect, responsibility, integrity, servant leadership and sportsmanship was nominated by their head coach.
Black heretic at Winthrop
South grad Olivia Blackketter just completed her sophomore year at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, NC
The sophomore middle blocker came in nine games with one start and had 27 kills hitting .271 and had 12 blocks. She had eight kills a season high, hitting .545 in a five-set win over Presbyterian.
The Eagles finished 15-9.
Bucy a National Champion
South grad Katelyn Bucy is a junior setter at St. Mary of the Woods who won the United States Collegiate Athletic Association’s first national championship on November 13 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The Pomeroys entered the tournament at Virginia Beach 11-14, but defeated Maine-Fort Kent 20-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-19, then D’Youville 25-23, 25-11 , 25-20, then Carlow, 25-17, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18 in the semi-finals and took the title with a 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 sweep of Bluefield State.
Appearing in 28 games, Bucy finished with 144 assists, 29 aces and 95 digs and was named to the River States Conference Scholar-Athlete Team.
panther collection
Haley Davidson, a sophomore outside hitter, played in 49 sets in 19 games and earned one start for Belmont Abbey this season. She had 25 graves and four aces while the Crusaders went 10-21. … Bria Ooley is a junior middle hitter in Georgetown (Ky.) who played in 17 sets, collected 14 kills and seven blocks.
Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.