RICHARDSON, Texas -- LeTourneau volleyball junior
Morgan Nix was named the American Southwest Conference Libero of the Year to lead four YellowJackets in all-conferences honors, as the league announced its season awards on Wednesday.
Nix also earned a spot on the All-ASC first team, while
Hannah Payan,
Kaci Monk, and
Allison Smith were second team selections.
A junior from Cypress, Texas, Nix leads the ASC with 669 total digs and 6.31 digs per set and earns her first career All-ASC honor. She ranks in the top-five nationally in both categories and has been among the national leaders throughout the season. Nix's 669 digs are a program single-season record and she also broke program single-match records twice on the year. Her 46 digs in a four-set win over Concordia on Oct. 21 set an all-time program single-match record, while her 40 digs in a win at ETBU on Sept. 27 set the team's record in a five-set match.
On the year, Nix has nine matches of 30-plus digs and has a streak of double-digit digs in 25 straight matches. Nix was a three-time ASC Defensive Player of the Week honoree (Sept. 13, Oct. 4, Oct. 25).
Payan, a sophomore from El Paso, Texas, earns her second All-ASC selection and led the team in total points (328.0) and kills (283, 3.25 per set) on the year. The sophomore had two 20-plus kill efforts during the year, including a career-high 24 in a win over Hardin-Simmons on Sept. 6, and had 17 matches with double-digit kill totals. She added 10 double-doubles and had a career-high 22 digs to go with 19 kills in a comeback win over Sul Ross State on Sept. 23.
A sophomore from Euless, Texas, Monk also earned her second straight All-ASC honor. One of the most efficient hitters on the team, Monk has 235 kills on the year (2.26 per set) while hitting .265 and added 39 total blocks. She had a career-high 17 kills and hit .395 at Dallas on Sept. 20. Monk hit better than .300 in a match 11 times this year with a season-best .636 coming on 14 kills on 22 attempts in a win at Rhodes on Sept. 9. Additionally, Monk had 12 matches of double-digit kills during the regular season.
Smith, a junior from New Braunfels, Texas, collects her second All-ASC selection after garnering East second team honors as a freshman. Smith has the top hitting percentage on the team at .312, fifth in the ASC, and leads the YellowJackets with 93 blocks (0.88 per set) which is third in the conference. The junior has 167 kills on the year, averaging 1.58 per set. She registered five or more total blocks in a match eight times on the year, with a career-high six on two occasions. She had 11 kills, 10 digs, and four blocks in a five-set win at ETBU on Sept. 27 and had three matches of 10-plus kills.
LeTourneau (15-11, 8-8 ASC) is the No. 4 seed in the ASC Tournament and will take on No. 5 seed Hardin-Simmons on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Richardson, Texas.
