Liberty Volleyball Receives 5 Postseason CUSA Honors
11/16/2023 1:10:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Liberty junior middle blocker Madison Blane was named Conference USA Volleyball Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, the Lady Flames placed four players on the CUSA All-Conference team. The postseason CUSA honors, announced this afternoon, were nominated and voted on by the conference's nine head coaches.
Blane was voted to the CUSA Volleyball All-Conference first team, while senior outside hitter Kamryn Bacus, senior setter Delaney Dilfer and junior outside hitter Kate Phillips were all named to the second team.
Liberty has tied a program record with four all-conference players. The Lady Flames placed four players on the Big South All-Conference team in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2016 and had four All-ASUN selections last year.
Blane is the first player in program history to be named a conference's defensive player of the year.
Dilfer received her third career all-conference award, as she was a second team All-ASUN player in 2021 for Lipscomb and a first team all-conference setter last year at Liberty. Bacus (second team) and Blane (third team) both received all-conference honors last season, while Phillips was voted to her first all-conference team.
Montgomery, Texas native Madison Blane was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week three times this season and is the eighth player in conference history to be named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week in the same season. For the year, Blane leads CUSA in both hitting percentage (.425 – 10th nationally) and blocks per set (1.30 – 26th nationally). She has reached double figures in kills 12 times, including 11 10-kill matches in conference play. Blane is the first Liberty player since Loren Thomas in 2012 to hit .600 or better (minimum 12 kills) twice in the same year. The middle blocker has posted five or more blocks 15 times on the campaign.
A native of Edmond, Okla., Kamryn Bacus was voted CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4. She ranks second in CUSA in both kills per set (3.67) and points per set (4.33). Bacus leads the team with 16 double-digit kill matches while also scoring 20 or more kills five times. She sent down a career-high 25 kills in a 3-2 win over Hawai'i on Sept. 7 and also topped the 20 kill mark against High Point, Yale and Sam Houston (twice). The senior scored her 1,000th career kill on Oct. 20 against FIU. For the second year in a row, Bacus has registered 10 15-kill matches.
Dilfer, a native of Austin, Texas, was named CUSA Setter of the Week on Aug. 28. The 2022 ASUN Setter of the Year ranks second in Conference USA in assists per set in conference play, at 10.70. On Saturday at UTEP, Dilfer became the 10th active NCAA Division I setter to surpass 4,000 career assists. She has dished out 40 or more assists seven times this year, including four 50-assist contests. Dilfer dished out 55 assists against both Western Kentucky and Sam Houston. The setter leads the Lady Flames with seven double-doubles, giving her 24 double-doubles in two years as a Lady Flame.
Hailing from Encinitas, Calif., Phillips currently ranks seventh overall in CUSA in kills per set (3.02), including fifth in conference-only matches (3.31). She is tied with Madison Blane for the team lead with 11 double-digit kill matches in conference play, and Phillips has 15 10-kill matches overall. Twice this season (at No. 23 Hawai'i, at Sam Houston), Phillips tied her career high with 20 kills. On Sept. 7 at Hawai'i, Phillips became the first Lady Flame since 2011 to register 20 kills ad 20 digs in the same match. She has scored 15 or more kills nine times this year and is second on the team with six double-doubles.
The fifth-seeded Lady Flames (15-13, 8-8 CUSA) host the 2023 CUSA Volleyball Championship, this Friday through Sunday. Liberty will take on the fourth seed, UTEP, in a quarterfinal on Friday at 1 p.m.
2023 CUSA Volleyball
First Team All-Conference
Yasso Amin, FIU
Jade Sadeiko, FIU
Madison Blane, Liberty
Taylor Eisert, MTSU
Kayla Henley, MTSU
Adri Rhoda, MTSU
Ryleigh Whitekettle, NM State
Kaya Weaver, UTEP
Callie Bauer, WKU
Paige Briggs, WKU
Kaylee Cox, WKU
Second Team All-Conference
Kamryn Bacus, Liberty
Delaney Dilfer, Liberty
Kate Phillips, Liberty
Laure Jansen, MTSU
Kaylee Oscarson, MTSU
Kacia Brown, NM State
Darian Markham, NM State
Mari Sharp, NM State
Alianza Darley, UTEP
Danika Washington, UTEP
Kenadee Coyle, WKU
All-Freshman Team
Gianna Tagoa'I, FIU
Grace Krohn, LA Tech
Maggie Lightheart, NM State
Payton Woods, Sam Houston
Kalia Kohler, UTEP
Logan Grevengoed, WKU
Izzy Van De Wiele, WKU
Gabby Weihe, WKU
Player of the Year
Paige Briggs, WKU
Setter of the Year
Taylor Eisert, MTSU
Defensive Player of the Year
Madison Blane, Liberty
Libero of the Year
Darian Markham, NM State
Freshman of the Year
Logan Grevengoed, WKU
Coach of the Year
Travis Hudson, WKU
Blane was voted to the CUSA Volleyball All-Conference first team, while senior outside hitter Kamryn Bacus, senior setter Delaney Dilfer and junior outside hitter Kate Phillips were all named to the second team.
Liberty has tied a program record with four all-conference players. The Lady Flames placed four players on the Big South All-Conference team in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2016 and had four All-ASUN selections last year.
Blane is the first player in program history to be named a conference's defensive player of the year.
Dilfer received her third career all-conference award, as she was a second team All-ASUN player in 2021 for Lipscomb and a first team all-conference setter last year at Liberty. Bacus (second team) and Blane (third team) both received all-conference honors last season, while Phillips was voted to her first all-conference team.
Montgomery, Texas native Madison Blane was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week three times this season and is the eighth player in conference history to be named CUSA Defensive Player of the Week and Offensive Player of the Week in the same season. For the year, Blane leads CUSA in both hitting percentage (.425 – 10th nationally) and blocks per set (1.30 – 26th nationally). She has reached double figures in kills 12 times, including 11 10-kill matches in conference play. Blane is the first Liberty player since Loren Thomas in 2012 to hit .600 or better (minimum 12 kills) twice in the same year. The middle blocker has posted five or more blocks 15 times on the campaign.
A native of Edmond, Okla., Kamryn Bacus was voted CUSA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4. She ranks second in CUSA in both kills per set (3.67) and points per set (4.33). Bacus leads the team with 16 double-digit kill matches while also scoring 20 or more kills five times. She sent down a career-high 25 kills in a 3-2 win over Hawai'i on Sept. 7 and also topped the 20 kill mark against High Point, Yale and Sam Houston (twice). The senior scored her 1,000th career kill on Oct. 20 against FIU. For the second year in a row, Bacus has registered 10 15-kill matches.
Dilfer, a native of Austin, Texas, was named CUSA Setter of the Week on Aug. 28. The 2022 ASUN Setter of the Year ranks second in Conference USA in assists per set in conference play, at 10.70. On Saturday at UTEP, Dilfer became the 10th active NCAA Division I setter to surpass 4,000 career assists. She has dished out 40 or more assists seven times this year, including four 50-assist contests. Dilfer dished out 55 assists against both Western Kentucky and Sam Houston. The setter leads the Lady Flames with seven double-doubles, giving her 24 double-doubles in two years as a Lady Flame.
Hailing from Encinitas, Calif., Phillips currently ranks seventh overall in CUSA in kills per set (3.02), including fifth in conference-only matches (3.31). She is tied with Madison Blane for the team lead with 11 double-digit kill matches in conference play, and Phillips has 15 10-kill matches overall. Twice this season (at No. 23 Hawai'i, at Sam Houston), Phillips tied her career high with 20 kills. On Sept. 7 at Hawai'i, Phillips became the first Lady Flame since 2011 to register 20 kills ad 20 digs in the same match. She has scored 15 or more kills nine times this year and is second on the team with six double-doubles.
The fifth-seeded Lady Flames (15-13, 8-8 CUSA) host the 2023 CUSA Volleyball Championship, this Friday through Sunday. Liberty will take on the fourth seed, UTEP, in a quarterfinal on Friday at 1 p.m.
2023 CUSA Volleyball
First Team All-Conference
Yasso Amin, FIU
Jade Sadeiko, FIU
Madison Blane, Liberty
Taylor Eisert, MTSU
Kayla Henley, MTSU
Adri Rhoda, MTSU
Ryleigh Whitekettle, NM State
Kaya Weaver, UTEP
Callie Bauer, WKU
Paige Briggs, WKU
Kaylee Cox, WKU
Second Team All-Conference
Kamryn Bacus, Liberty
Delaney Dilfer, Liberty
Kate Phillips, Liberty
Laure Jansen, MTSU
Kaylee Oscarson, MTSU
Kacia Brown, NM State
Darian Markham, NM State
Mari Sharp, NM State
Alianza Darley, UTEP
Danika Washington, UTEP
Kenadee Coyle, WKU
All-Freshman Team
Gianna Tagoa'I, FIU
Grace Krohn, LA Tech
Maggie Lightheart, NM State
Payton Woods, Sam Houston
Kalia Kohler, UTEP
Logan Grevengoed, WKU
Izzy Van De Wiele, WKU
Gabby Weihe, WKU
Player of the Year
Paige Briggs, WKU
Setter of the Year
Taylor Eisert, MTSU
Defensive Player of the Year
Madison Blane, Liberty
Libero of the Year
Darian Markham, NM State
Freshman of the Year
Logan Grevengoed, WKU
Coach of the Year
Travis Hudson, WKU
Players Mentioned
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