Division II Volleyball Announces Spring 2021 Top Performers
The ICCAC conference and coaches have selected the Division II All-Conference and All-Region teams for the 2021 season.
Iowa Central once again took the top spot of the Division II standings with a season record of 19-3 (16-3 ICCAC). This is the third straight regular-season conference title for the Tritons who were also the Region XI-A Champions after a 3-1 win over Hawkeye in the Region XI-A Championship.
At the 2021 Division II National Tournament, the ICCAC will have at least two schools in attendance competing for a national title. The Tritons, who swept through the Region XI-A bracket and only lost one set in the two matches, are the XI-A winner and were an automatic qualifier to the NJCAA National Tournament. Kirkwood was the Region XI-B Champions, and by winning the District Championship against East Central (Mo.) on Saturday, are slated to compete in the National Tournament which will be held in their hometown of Cedar Rapids.
On Thursday, eight players were selected to the First Team All-Conference with Iowa Central, Kirkwood, and NIACC all having two players named. DMACC and Hawkeye were the other schools rounding out the First Team with one selection each. Three freshmen were named First Team along with five sophomores.
Iowa Central's members on the First Team dominated the conference standings in multiple statistical categories. Alesha Johnson, the Spring 2021 ICCAC Player of the Year, was one of three setters who averaged more than ten assists per set as she picked up 10.74 assists per set and led the conference in total assists with 773. Kealey Anderson was second in the conference in both kills per set (4.00) and total kills (288).
Kirkwood also had two First Team selections with Katie Kopriva and Anna Gorsich. Kopriva was second on the team in kills and kills per set as the Eagles took the Region XI-B Championship. Gorsich was selected to the All-Conference First Team for the second year in a row. She was named Region XI-B Tournament MVP again for the second straight season.
NIACC had two athletes earn First Team selections, Becca Steffen for the second year in a row and freshman Grace Tobin was also recognized. Steffen was an all-around athlete all season long. She ranked in the top five in aces (42) and assists (545). Tobin, a freshman, made a seamless transition to the NJCAA level. She led the conference in kills (300) and kills per set (4.29).
Hawkeye and DMACC both had one player represented at the top tier of conference performers. Kylie Welch represented the Bears all-around the court as the freshman was considered positionally as both an outside hitter and defensive specialist. Welch led the conference in aces per set (.87) and was the only player with north of 50 aces (69). Welch was also a top hitter in the conference with 245 kills on the season.
Hawkeye's Amber Rickert represented the Redtails as the final member of the First Team. Rickert was top seven in kills (259), kills per set (3.32), and digs (310).
All-Region selections each year are based on the finish of each school in the conference standings, and their respective regional tournament pairings.
In 2021, Region XI-A was composed of Iowa Central, Hawkeye, NIACC, Ellsworth, and Southwestern. Region XI-B consisted of Kirkwood, DMACC, Southeastern, Northeast, and Iowa Lakes.
Angel Baylark was voted the Spring 2021 Freshman of the Year by the league after an outstanding season. The middle hitter had the best hitting percentage in the conference at .403. She ended in the top 10 in all blocking categories with 17 solo blocks (8th), 64 block assists (4th) and 81 total blocks (5th).
Lastly, in her final season as DMACC's head coach, Patty Harrison was named the 2021 Spring Coach of the Year. The Bears finished in third place in the Division II standings and were the Region XI-B runners-up. With a record of 16-5, DMACC rattled off winning streaks of nine and seven matches in a row, including wins over Indian Hills, Iowa Central, and Hawkeye.
2021 Division II Volleyball All Conference
| First Team All-Conference | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Kylie Welch | DMACC | OH/DS | Fr. |
| Amber Rickert | Hawkeye | OH | So. |
| Alesha Johnson | Iowa Central | S | So. |
| Kealey Anderson | Iowa Central | OH | So. |
| Anna Gorsich | Kirkwood | OH | So. |
| Katie Kopriva | Kirkwood | RS | Fr. |
| Becca Steffen | NIACC | S | So. |
| Grace Tobin | NIACC | OH | Fr. |
| Second Team All-Conference | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Katelyn Courtney | DMACC | MB | So. |
| Bailey Hoff | Hawkeye | L | Fr. |
| Jessica Jacobs | Hawkeye | MB | So. |
| Angel Baylark | Iowa Central | MB | Fr. |
| Katilyn Steffes | Iowa Central | OH | Fr. |
| Alli Pisarcik | Kirkwood | DS | So. |
| Carly Hirsch | Northeast | MB | So. |
| Raevyn Russell | Southeastern | OH | Fr. |
| Honorable Mention All-Conference | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Anna Niehaus | DMACC | OH | Fr. |
| Jordan Neely | DMACC | DS/L | So. |
| Kaitlyn Baer | Ellsworth | OH | So. |
| Vitoria Kazanovski | Ellsworth | S | So. |
| Emily Clapp | Hawkeye | OH | So. |
| Haley Eckerman | Hawkeye | MB | Fr. |
| Baylyn Johnson | Iowa Central | DS/L | So. |
| Haley Alharithy | Iowa Central | MB | So. |
| Kylie Kline | Iowa Lakes | L | Fr. |
| Mady Brevik | Iowa Lakes | U | Fr. |
| Maggie Peters | Kirkwood | MH | So. |
| Rachael Nelson | Kirkwood | S | So. |
| Bri Powers | NIACC | DS | So. |
| Megan Hollander | NIACC | MB | So. |
| Jamie Bonifas | Northeast | S | So. |
| Elizabeth Christensen | Northeast | OH | So. |
| Rachel Bingham | Southeastern | OH | So. |
| Rainy Hoskie | Southeastern | DS | Fr. |
| Florence Omodayo | Southwestern | OH | Fr. |
| MaKenna Hudson | Southwestern | DS | Fr. |
2021 Division II Volleyball All-Region
| First Team All-Region XI A | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Amber Rickert | Hawkeye | OH | So. |
| Jessica Jacobs | Hawkeye | MB | So. |
| Alesha Johnson | Iowa Central | S | So. |
| Kealey Anderson | Iowa Central | OH | So. |
| Angel Baylark | Iowa Central | MB | Fr. |
| Becca Steffen | NIACC | S | So. |
| Grace Tobin | NIACC | OH | Fr. |
| Second Team All-Region XI A | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Gabi Damiano | Ellsworth | OH | So. |
| Vitoria Kazanovski | Ellsworth | S | So. |
| Bailey Hoff | Hawkeye | L | Fr. |
| Emily Clapp | Hawkeye | OH | So. |
| Haley Alharithy | Iowa Central | MB | So. |
| Katilyn Steffes | Iowa Central | OH | Fr. |
| Brooke Halterman | Southwestern | MH | So. |
| First Team All-Region XI B | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Katelyn Courtney | DMACC | MB | So. |
| Kylie Welch | DMACC | OH/DS | Fr. |
| Liz Pierce | DMACC | S | Fr. |
| Anna Gorsich | Kirkwood | OH | So. |
| Katie Kopriva | Kirkwood | RS | Fr. |
| Carly Hirsch | Northeast | MB | So. |
| Second Team All-Region XI B | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Anna Niehaus | DMACC | OH | Fr. |
| Alli Pisarcik | Kirkwood | DS | So. |
| Maggie Peters | Kirkwood | MH | So. |
| Rachael Nelson | Kirkwood | S | So. |
| Jamie Bonifas | Northeast | S | So. |
| Raevyn Russell | Southeastern | OH | Fr. |
All Tournament Teams
| Region XI-A All-Tournament Team | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Grace Tobin | Ellsworth | OH | Fr. |
| Bailey Hoff | Hawkeye | L/DS | Fr. |
| Jessica Jacobs | Hawkeye | MB | So. |
| Alesha Johnson*** | Iowa Central | S | So. |
| Kealey Anderson | Iowa Central | OH | So. |
| Haley Alharithy | Iowa Central | MB | So. |
| Gabi Damiano | NIACC | OH | So. |
| Region XI-B All-Tournament Team | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Anna Niehaus | DMACC | OH/RS | Fr. |
| Kylie Welch | DMACC | OH/DS | Fr. |
| Anna Gorsich*** | Kirkwood | OH | So. |
| Allison Pisarcik | Kirkwood | DS | So. |
| Katie Kopriva | Kirkwood | RS | Fr. |
| Carly Hirsch | Northeast | MB | So. |
| Rainy Hoskie | Southeastern | S | Fr. |
*** Tournament MVP
2021 Division II Volleyball Special Awards
| Coach of the Year | |||
| Coach of the Year | School | ||
| Patty Harrison | DMACC | ||
| Player of the Year | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Alesha Johnson | Iowa Central | S | So. |
| Freshman of the Year | |||
| Player | School | Position | Year |
| Angel Baylark | Iowa Central | MB | Fr. |