CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team had a commanding presence in the Southland All-Conference awards with four landing on First Team and sophomore
Kyndal Payne headlining as the SLC Player of the Year. In addition, seniors
Carissa Barnes and
Faith Panhans both repeated for the third year in a row as SLC Libero and Setter of the Year, respectively.
Sophomore
Leah Stolfus joined the superlative winners, being named to the All-Conference First-Team for her first All-Conference selection. Payne became a two-time All-Conference selection, Panhans a third, and Barnes a fourth.
It marks the second year in a row that an Islander won SLC Player of the Year, as Panhans earned that honor last season.
"It is a really nice honor to have our players be recognized by opposing coaches and teams," said head coach
Steve Greene. "Individual awards are testaments to the hard work they have put in during the off-season as well as throughout this fall. Our whole team has been very supportive of each other all year and the accolades speak to everyone on our team working to make each other better as well as the successes that Kyndal, Faith, Carissa, and Leah were honored with."
Payne, a product out of Haslet, Texas, was steadfast all season for the Islanders, being just one of two players in the conference to finish in the top-10 in hitting percentage, kills per set and points per set. She topped the league in kills per set at 4.91 as well as in points per set at 5.39. Payne finished seventh in the Southland in hitting percentage at a .309 mark, but first out of all outside hitters.
The two-time Southland Offensive Player of the Week recipient was the kills-leader in 15 conference matches this season, including when she broke the program record for most kills in a match with 28 against Northwestern State, a conference-high. Along with her offensive effort, Payne proved to be vital in the back row to record a double-double in 11 conference matches, tallying 174 digs and averaging 2.68 per set.
"Kyndal has really blossomed into a dominant all-around player this year. Her offensive numbers are unmatched, and she brings an amazing effort and tenacity to her defense and blocking as well. She is a joy to coach and truly wants everyone around her to improve and excel. I couldn't be prouder of the improvements she has made this year and am ecstatic for her to be honored by the other coaches as Player of the Year," Greene said.
Barnes, from Weatherford, Texas, went 18-for-18 in being the digs-leader in every conference match this season, totaling 356 digs for a 5.48 per set mark. She finished the year atop the conference in digs per set while also finishing tied for first in service aces per set at 0.45. Barnes led the Islanders' defense to first in fewest opponent kills as well as leading serve receive to the fewest opponent service aces.
A Southland Defensive Player of the Week recipient, Barnes picked up at least 10 digs in each league match, with 10 of the 18 matches being 20+ dig performances.
"Carissa is consistently the best serve receiver and defender in every match she plays," said Greene. "She puts in so much effort to improve on the smallest details to make herself better each day. Outside of practice, she is always watching film and looking for more ways to improve. Her first touch quality is second to none and she is very deserving of another Libero of the Year honor."
Panhans, from Plano, Texas, ran the strongest offense in the Southland, leading the Islanders to finish first in the conference in team kills at 1,007 and team hitting percentage at .272. Individually, she finished the year first in assists per set at 10.57 and second in hitting percentage at .360, but first out of all setters.
Also, out of all the setters in the league, Panhans finished first in kills per set at 1.98 and for combined assists per set and kills per set at 12.55. She received the final Southland Offensive Player of the Week honor this year after closing out the regular season with a double-double performance at Nicholls.
"Faith led our offense to the most potent in kills per set as well as the most efficient in the conference. She has been working through a lot of challenges this season and really come into her own with understanding how to manage different situations each match and still lead our team. She creates such a challenge for opponents as she brings a strong ability to attack as well as distribute the ball pin to pin which makes very deserving for another Setter of the Year honor," said Greene.
Stolfus, a Denton, Texas native, finished as the most efficient hitter in the Southland, ranking at the top in hitting percentage at a .382 mark. She was just one of two players in the whole league to finish in the top-10 for hitting percentage, kills per set, and points per set. Stolfus finished third in kills per set at 3.46 and points per set at 3.85 but led these categories among all middle blockers in the conference. In fact, she was the only middle blocker to finish in the top-10 in either category.
"Leah had an outstanding season and really showed how dominant she can be as a middle. She took on a heavy offensive load and still was able to be the most efficient hitter in the conference. She has worked so hard to continually improve in all aspects of her game and earning First-Team All-Conference is a tremendous honor that should give her even more confidence," Greene said.
The awards come prior to the Islanders beginning their 2022 SLC Tournament journey on Friday in the quarterfinals against the winner of Northwestern State versus UIW. A&M-Corpus Christi will be going for its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and third in a row.
Click
here to see the All-Conference Teams and Superlative winners.
Stay Social
For more information on Islanders Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (
@IslandersVB), Instagram (
@islandersvb) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Volleyball).
#ShakasUp
