Volleyball lands 4 on All-ACC teams

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

Four Mustangs Earn All-ACC Team Honors

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC/SMU) – Four members of the SMU volleyball team received ACC Volleyball Postseason Honors, which were announced on Monday after a vote by the league's head coaches.

Setter Celia Cullen and opposite hitter Naya Shime were selected to the 15-player All-ACC First Team. Middle blocker Natalie Foster and outside hitter Maya Tabron were selected to the All-ACC Second Team.

Cullen, who averages 9.84 assists, ranking third in the conference, paces a Mustang attack that ranks 28th in the nation in hitting percentage. The graduate from Brighton, Michigan, also leads the league in total assists with 1,102 while adding 1.87 digs per set, which is second on the team. She was named ACC Setter of the Week twice and was added to the AVCA National Player of the Year Watchlist midway through the season. She is currently fifth all-time at SMU in assists, with 3,457 in just three years on the Hilltop.

Shime, who was the first Mustang taken off the board in last week's 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) draft by the Grand Rapids Rise, is putting up a team-leading 3.36 kills per set on .272 hitting and 4.03 blocks per set this season. She also has collected 23 double-digit kill outings this season, which leads SMU. The Casper, Wyoming native was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week once this season and was added to the mid-season AVCA Player of the Year Watch list. She has three double-doubles and two games with 20 kills this season.

Foster, a graduate blocker from Mattawan, Michigan, has been one of the most efficient middles in the ACC, leading the team and fifth in the conference in hitting percentage, swinging at a .359 percent clip. Foster finished the regular season second in the league in both total aces, 64, and aces per set at .57, which each rank top 10 in the country. She also averages 1.72 kills per set and 1.06 blocks per set this season. Foster broke the program's single-season ACC record and was named ACC Defensive Player once in her lone year in Dallas. Foster was the second Mustang selected in the PVF draft last week, going to the Orlando Valkyries as the No. 14 overall pick.

Tabron, a graduate outside hitter from Gilroy, California, ranks second on the Mustangs in kills with 2.97 per set and adds a team-best 2.59 digs per set in her final collegiate season. Tabron leads the Ponies with 12 double-doubles and 16 matches with double-digit digs this season. She also has 19 matches with ten or more kills and is second on the team in service aces with 32, the most of any season in her five-year collegiate career. Tabron was the final Mustangs drafted in the PVF draft this season, selected by the San Diego Mojo at No. 23 overall.

After going 26-7 last year, winning the American, and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016, SMU has turned heads in their first season in ACC, going 16-4 against conference foe. Sam Erger's Mustangs have seven wins over ranked opponents this season, including victories over No. 1 Pitt and No. 2 Stanford.

The Mustangs earned a No. 2 seed and the No. 8 national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. SMU will host Wichita State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7 PM CT. Tickets to the first and second-round matches in Dallas are on sale now at https://tinyurl.com/28pnm4z8. The first and second-round matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

All-ACC First Team
Audrey Koenig, Florida State
Khori Louis, Florida State
Anna DeBeer, Louisville
Charitie Luper, Louisville
Elena Scott, Louisville
Flormarie Heredia Colon, Miami
Olivia Babcock, Pitt
Rachel Fairbanks, Pitt
Bre Kelley, Pitt
Torrey Stafford, Pitt
Celia Cullen, SMU
Naya Shime, SMU
Sami Francis, Stanford
Kami Miner, Stanford
Elia Rubin, Stanford
**15 on first team due to a tie in voting**

All-ACC Second Team
Julia Haggerty, Boston College
Bianca Bertolino, Georgia Tech
Tamara Otene, Georgia Tech
Cara Cresse, Louisville
Grace Lopez, Miami (FL)
Amanda Rice, NC State
Mabrey Shaffmaster, North Carolina
Emmy Klika, Pittsburgh
Valeria Vazquez Gomez, Pittsburgh
Natalie Foster, SMU
Maya Tabron, SMU
Jordyn Harvey, Stanford
Ipar Kurt, Stanford
Elena Oglivie, Stanford

NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST AND SECOND-ROUND SCHEDULE
First Round – Thursday, Dec. 5
4 p.m. – Missouri vs. Texas State (ESPN+)
7 p.m.* – SMU vs. Wichita State (ESPN+)

*or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 4:00 p.m. match, but no sooner than 7 p.m.

Second Round – Friday, Dec. 6
7 p.m. – First Round Winners (ESPN+)