Ford and Rector Named To First Team; Volleyball Collects 15 All-Conference Honors

KINGSPORT, TN – The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) announced this year’s conference awards on Wednesday night, and the Bryan College Volleyball team represented well by taking home 15 All-Conference honors. The Lady Lions concluded their regular season with an 23-5 overall record and a 19-2 conference record to win their second-consecutive AAC Regular Season Championship. Bryan and Columbia International are regular-season co-champions as both finished with 12.5 points in the standings.

Their success this season resulted in 15 All-Conference recognitions, highlighted by Gigi Ford and Abby Rector receiving All-Conference First Team honors. Raegan Malugin was named to the Second Team and All-Freshman Team, and Paige Randolph was recognized as the Lady Lions’ Champion of Character recipient. Nate Shadoan was also named Assistant Coach of the Year.

The Lady Lions ranked Top 5 in the AAC in five statistical categories. Some of these include 1st in the league in Digs per Set with 18.77. The offensive attack of 11.71 kills per set and 1.89 service aces per set was good for 3rd in the AAC. A hitting percentage of .195 was also good for 2nd in the AAC. Bryan put up a defensive front at the net and ranked 5th in the conference with 1.95 blocks per set.

INSIDE THE STATS

• Gigi Ford earned a place on the All-Conference First Team for the first time in her career at outside hitter. The junior from Memphis, TN earned First Team honors after averaging 3.41 kills per set for 6th in the AAC. She also consistently produced for Bryan on defense as well as serving, finishing with 4.05 digs per set for 10th in the conference and 29 service aces for 6th in the AAC. She surpassed her 800th career kill and her 1,000th career dig this season.

• Abby Rector followed up a stellar freshman campaign with another season on the All-Conference First Team as outside hitter for the Lady Lions. The Chattanooga, TN native was 5th in the AAC with a .275 hitting percentage and her 26 service aces against AAC opponents were good for 9th in the conference. Rector’s 3.6 points per set also ranked her 6th in the AAC. Overall, she has tallied 459 kills in her second season as a Lady Lion with a .252 hitting percentage.

• Raegan Malugin secured her place on both the All-Conference Second Team and All-Freshman team after being a consistent threat at the net for the Lady Lions in…