BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - For the fourth time in program history, two Western Kentucky University volleyball players have earned All-South region honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced Tuesday.
Freshman setter Melanie Stutsman was named the South Region Freshman of the Year along with earning a spot on the 14-person first team while junior middle blocker Tiffany Elmore earned honorable mention All-South Region recognition. The honor is the first for both Stutsman and Elmore.
Stutsman, who was a second-team All-Sun Belt selection, set her team to a .294 hitting percentage which ranks seventh in the country. She saw action in all 121 sets this season at the setter position. On the season, Stutsman collected 1,289 assists for an average of 10.65 per set. This number ranks third in the conference and 52nd in the nation in assists per sets. She has recorded 30 assists in 30 of 36 matches this season. She ranks fifth in the conference with a .338 hitting percentage, a mark that improves to .385 in league play.
"Melanie Stutsman has had a terrific freshman year and has worked really hard, she is a really talented kid but I think that award speaks to our entire team," WKU coach Travis Hudson said. "Whenever a setter is recognized to that degree it says a lot about your team offensively and so I think it speaks to all of our players offensively and I think it speaks to the level of ball control that we had.
"It's unheard of for a true freshman to start in high-level Division I volleyball but then to lead your team to the NCAA Tournament and be seventh in the nation in team offense, I think speaks highly of what she has been able to accomplish."
Elmore, who earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors, saw action in all 121 sets this season and has spent much of the season atop both team and conference leader boards. Elmore leads the Lady Toppers with a .358 hitting percentage, 339 kills (2.80/set) and 139 blocks (1.15/set). She is first in the league in blocking, ranks second in the league and 43rd nationally in hitting percentage, and is top 10 in the league in kills. In Sun Belt play, Elmore led the conference with 1.24 blocks per set and finished fourth with a .375 hitting percentage.
"Tiffany continues to improve with every year that passes," Hudson said. "Two years ago she was a kid that was very inexperienced in the game of volleyball and now as a junior to be an honorable mention all-region selection, I think speaks to how hard she has worked and the player that she's turned in to."
With selection to the first team of the All-South Region, Stutsman is now eligible for All-America candidacy which will be announced during the Final Four, the week of Dec. 16.
This year marks the first time since 2008 that WKU has placed multiple players on the All-South Team. Overall, a Lady Topper has been tabbed to the team on 11 occasions, all coming under the direction of Hudson.
For all AVCA Region Teams- click here.
