BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - For the sixth time in program history, two Western Kentucky University volleyball players have earned All-South Region honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced Tuesday.
Junior setter Melanie Stutsman and senior outside hitter Jordyn Skinner each earned a spot on the 14-person first team. The honor is the third for Stutsman, who was named the South Region Freshman of the Year in 2010, and the second for Skinner.
With selection to the first team of the All-South Region, Stutsman and Skinner are now eligible for All-America candidacy which will be announced before the Final Four on Wed., December 12. The pair was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans last season while Stutsman also earned the honor in 2010.
"I'm really excited for both of those kids," WKU head coach Travis Hudson said. "This is a year that I think we had numerous kids that could have achieved that level of success, but those two are very deserving and were certainly a big part of why we were successful."
Stutsman, who is a two-time first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection and the 2012 SBC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, set her team to a .296 hitting percentage, which ranks eighth in the nation. On the season, the Floyds Knobs, Ind., native collected 1,366 assists for an average of 11.29 per set. This number ranks first in the conference and 22nd in the nation in assists per set. She has recorded 30 assists in 30 matches this season. Stutsman, however, appeared on the stat sheets in more than one category. She ranks fourth in the conference with a .326 hitting percentage while ranking third on the team with 256 digs and fourth with 22 service aces and 53 blocks.
Skinner, who earned first-team All-SBC honors for the second year in a row, saw action in all 121 sets and is one of the top all-around players in the league. Skinner recorded 17 matches with double-digit kills and 14 with double-digit digs. She finished the season averaging 2.94 kills per set and 2.78 digs per set. She led WKU with 356 kills and 40 service aces, was second with 336 digs and third with 64 blocks. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native finishes her career ranking in multiple top 10 career categories, including sets played, matches played, kills, kills per game, total attempts, block solos, digs, digs per game and service aces.
This year marks the third-straight year WKU has placed at least two players on the All-South Team. Overall, a Lady Topper has been tabbed to the team on 17 occasions, all under the direction of Hudson.
