Courtesy: Mid-American Conference
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced Wednesday, on the eve of the 2018 MAC Volleyball Championship, the All-MAC First and Second team, along with the individual awards for Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Setter of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. The student-athletes receiving the honors were voted on by the league’s twelve head coaches.
Bowling Green’s Kallie Seimet defends her title of MAC Player of the Year and MAC Defensive Player of the Year. The Oregon, Ohio native is the first student-athlete in conference history to claim both titles in back-to-back seasons. In her final season as a Falcon, Seimet became BGSU’s all-time digs leader with a current career total 2300. She continues to lead the total digs (700) and digs/set (6.67) categories the NCAA rankings for the second year in a row. The senior libero was voted MAC Defensive Player of the Week five times this season and helped her team to a share of both the MAC East Division title and MAC Regular Season crown. Seimet also picked up First Team All-MAC honors, joining teammates Katie Kidwell and Katelyn Meyer.
Miami’s Carolyn Condit has been selected by her peers as the 2018 MAC Volleyball Coach of the Year. This is the sixth time Condit has been voted the top coach in the MAC. In her 35 years with the RedHawks, Condit holds a 631-456 record. She is ninth winningest active coach in NCAA Division I Volleyball and the 25thwinningest coach of all-time. This season, Condit’s squad finished tied for first with a 13-3 record, clinching a share of the East Division and Regular Season title for the second straight year.
Ball State junior Amber Seaman was named Setter of the Year. The Carmel, Indiana native is a 5-Time MAC West Division Setter of the Week. She ranks 2nd in the MAC with a 10.88 assists-per-set average and has BSU’s offense ranked 2nd with a .237 attack percentage in league play. Seaman is the first Cardinal to receive this honor and joins teammates Ellie Dunn and Sydnee VanBeek on the All-MAC First Team.
Gaby Harper of Miami was selected as the MAC Freshman of the Year. The 6-1, Michigan native started every match for the RedHawks and registered double-digit kills & digs in eight of them. The outside hitter has 254 kills on the season and averages 2.51 digs per set. She is the fifth Miami student-athlete tabbed with this title. Harper joins teammate Margaret Payne on the All-MAC First Team.
A total of 18 student-athletes were named to the 2018 All-MAC First Team. Eastern Michigan garnered three honorees with Cassie Haut, Alyssa LaFace, and Jordan Smith. Ohio also received three nods with the performances by Vera Giacomazzi, Tia Jimerson and Lizzie Stephens. Buffalo’s Andrea Mitrovic, the NIU duo of Jori Radtke and Meg Wolowicz and Western Michigan’s Rachel Bontrager round out the 2018 squad.
The six-person All-MAC Second Team consists of Ball State’s Meg Starling, Buffalo teammates Kristina Nieves and Polina Prokudina, Central Michigan’s Kalina Smith, Ohio’s Jaime Kosiorek and Toledo’s Zoe Birnbrich.
Savannah Thompson of Central Michigan, Kent State’s Erin Gardner and Melissa Kolurbasi and Sophie Riemersma of Miami join BGSU’s Meyer and Miami’s Harper on the 2018 MAC All-Freshman Team.
The first round of the 2018 MAC Volleyball tournament begins Thursday, November 15th on the campus of Miami University. The championship game is slated for Sunday night at 4:30 pm ESPN+. Ticket information and complete tournament details can be found on the Volleyball Championship page.
2018 MAC Volleyball Player of the Year
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Senior, Libero
2018 MAC Volleyball Setter of the Year
Amber Seaman, Ball State, Junior
2018 MAC Volleyball Freshman of the Year
Gaby Harper, Miami, Outside Hitter
2018 MAC Defensive Player of the Year
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Senior, Libero
2018 MAC Coach of the Year
Carolyn Condit, Miami
2018 MAC Volleyball All-MAC First Team (18 Members)
Ellie Dunn, Ball State, Outside Hitter, Senior
Amber Seaman, Ball State, Setter, Junior
Sydnee VanBeek, Ball State, Middle, Junior
Katie Kidwell, Bowling Green, Middle Blocker, Sophomore
Katelyn Meyer, Bowling Green, Outside Hitter, Freshman
Kallie Seimet, Bowling Green, Libero, Senior
Andrea Mitrovic, Buffalo, Outside Hitter, Sophomore
Cassie Haut, Eastern Michigan, Middle, R-Junior
Alyssa LaFace, Eastern Michigan, Libero, Senior
Jordan Smith, Eastern Michigan, Outside Hitter, Senior
Gaby Harper, Miami, Outside Hitter, Freshman
Margaret Payne, Miami, Middle Hitter, Junior
Jori Radtke, Northern Illinois, Outside Hitter, Sophomore
Meg Wolowicz, Northern Illinois, Outside Hitter, Senior
Vera Giacomazzi, Ohio, Setter, Sophomore
Tia Jimerson, Ohio, Middle Blocker, Sophomore
Lizzie Stephens, Ohio, Outside Hitter, Junior
Rachel Bontrager, Western Michigan, Outside Hitter, Sophomore
2018 MAC Volleyball All-MAC Second Team (6 Members)
Meg Starling, Ball State, Middle, R-Senior
Kristina Nieves, Buffalo, Middle Blocker, Junior
Polina Prokudina, Buffalo, Outside Hitter, Junior
Kalina Smith, Central Michigan, Outside Hitter, Sophomore
Jaime Kosiorek, Ohio, Outside Hitter, R-Senior
Zoe Birnbrich, Toledo, Middle Blocker, Junior
2018 MAC Volleyball All-Freshman Team (6 Members)
Katelyn Meyer, Bowling Green, Outside
Savannah Thompson, Central Michigan, Outside
Erin Gardner, Kent State, Libero
Melissa Kolurbasi, Kent State, Opposite
Gaby Harper, Miami, Outside Hitter
Sophie Riemersma, Miami, Outside Hitter
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