TROY, Ala. — South Alabama freshman Mechell Daniel was named the Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Sun Belt selection, and fellow freshman Jessica Lewis earned second-team all-conference honors.
The awards were announced Wednesday evening at the conference’s pre-tournament banquet in Troy, where the fifth-seeded Jaguars open the Sun Belt Conference Championships against fourth-seeded Texas-Arlington at 5 p.m. Thursday. The 16-member all-conference teams were chosen by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Program Milestones
Daniel is South Alabama’s first first-team All-Sun Belt selection since 1995. It is also the first time since 2000 that the Jaguars have placed two players on the all-conference teams.
Daniel is the second South Alabama volleyball player to win an individual Sun Belt award. Marei Lirette was previously named the conference’s Player of the Year.
Daniel’s Record Freshman Season
Daniel, a 6-foot-2 opposite side and outside hitter from Chelmsford, England, enters the conference tournament with 411 kills, the most ever by a South Alabama freshman and the seventh-highest single-season total in school history.
She leads the Jaguars and ranks third in the Sun Belt with 3.83 kills and 4.33 points per set. Against conference opponents, she has averaged 4.03 kills per set.
Daniel has 14 double-doubles this season, 13 of them in conference play, and has reached double figures in kills in 23 matches. Her career-high 28 kills came against Troy, one of four matches this season in which she has recorded at least 20 kills.
She was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week a conference-best four times this season. She also became the first player in league history to be named Freshman of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week at the same time.
Lewis Overcomes Injury
Lewis, an outside hitter from Huntsville, Ala., ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with 3.38 kills and 3.78 points per set. She was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week three times, second in the conference behind Daniel, including in back-to-back weeks.
Lewis missed four weeks and 10 matches with a foot injury but has recorded 247 kills. She has led the Jaguars in kills 10 times and reached double figures in 16 of her 18 matches, with eight matches of 15 or more kills.
She has two double-doubles this season, including a career-best 20 kills and 10 digs in a five-set match at regular-season champion Western Kentucky.
Tournament Opener
South Alabama, coached by Amy Hendrichovsky, enters the tournament 14-14 overall and 9-9 in Sun Belt play.
