Women’s Volleyball: Vanguard players earn GSAC honors; Flores player of the year

Vanguard University senior Stephanie Flores and freshman Rebecca Lowden top a list of five Lions named All-Golden State Athletic Conference in women’s volleyball.

Flores, a 6-foot-1 middle blocker, was named Player of the Year, while Lowden was Libero of the Year after leading the Lions (22-5, 15-1 in conference) to the program’s first GSAC championship.

Vanguard’s Eryn Leja was Coach of the Year.

Joining Flores and Lowden on the all-conference squad were senior Sarah McKinny, senior Charlotte Heerlyn and junior setter Kelly Dalrymple.

Flores led the conference with a .404 hitting percentage, while adding 94 total blocks.

Lowden led the GSAC with 507 digs (5.07 per set).

McKinny, a 6-0 middle blocker, is a three-time all-conference honoree. She hit .319 with 183 regular-season kills.

Heerlyn, a 6-2 outside hitter, hit .314 and her 2.98 kills per set ranked seventh in the conference.

Dalrymple paced Vanguard with 649 assists (6.49 per set to rank No. 4 in the conference).

It’s the first Coach of the Year honor for Leja, who is in her fifth season, all of which have resulted in trips to the NAIA Tournament.

Vanguard, ranked No. 6 in the final regular-season poll, after having climbed as high as No. 4, received a first-round bye and a spot in the 24-team final-site NAIA Tournament event, Dec. 1-5 at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

— From staff reports