The 2019 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Volleyball postseason awards have been announced after voting conducted by the league's coaches.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ferris State University senior Allyson Cappel
Ferris State University senior standout Allyson Cappel was chosen as the GLIAC Player of the Year for the third-straight season after guiding FSU to the program's sixth-straight league regular-season championship. A three-time All-American, Cappel had tallied a team-leading 422 kills along with 315 digs, 32 blocks and 32 aces as FSU's most versatile weapon heading into the league's final four. The four-time all-league honoree has helped guide FSU to a 23-5 overall record and the Bulldogs went 14-2 in the GLIAC during the regular-season. Cappel has posted 22 double-figure efforts in kills this season and tallied 10 digs or more in 15 outings to date this season. This year marks the fifth-straight year in which the Bulldogs have had a player chosen as the GLIAC Player of the Year and Cappel becomes the first player in conference history to win the award three consecutive seasons.
ATTACKER OF THE YEAR
Michigan Tech junior Olivia Ghormley
Ghormley is the GLIAC Attacker of the Year for the second consecutive season. She was third in the conference in kills per set (4.13) and points per set (4.5) in the regular season. The junior outside hitter from Oneida, Wisconsin notched her 1,000th career kill on September 28. She was on the Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team for the second straight season and was the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week four times. Ghormley tallied double-digit kills 24 times in 2019, including seven matches with 20 kills. She also added 10 double-doubles after averaging 2.32 digs per set. She added 26 blocks and 26 service aces. Ghormley is currently sixth in program history with 1,224 kills.
BLOCKER OF THE YEAR
Saginaw Valley St. junior Emily Friesl
Junior middle blocker Emily Friesl had a standout season for the Cardinals, racking-up 115 total blocks for an average of 1.07 blocks-per-set. She added 286 kills on the season while holding down the middle for Saginaw Valley, averaging 2.67 kills-per-set. Her 1.07 blocks-per-set rank second in the GLIAC while her even 100 block-assists lead the league. The now two-time All-GLIAC First Team honoree ranked second on the team with her 286 kills and 2.67 kills-per-set and was an anchor in leading the Cards to a 20-8 record. The 20 victories are the most since the program's 22 it posted in 2009 when SVSU claimed the regular season GLIAC championship.
SETTER OF THE YEAR
Michigan Tech junior Laura De Marchi
De Marchi received GLIAC Setter of the Year honors for the third straight season after leading the conference in digs per set at 11.71 to rank seventh in the nation and sixth in program history. She tallied her 3,000th career assist on October 4 and currently ranks third in program history with 3,448 assists. The junior setter from Milan, Italy also tallied 232 digs, 72 kills, 33 blocks, and 16 service aces. She had 12 matches with 40 assists, five with 50 assists, and one with 60 while also notching 12 double-doubles. She was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team, the Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team for the second year in a row, and was the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week on September 23.
LIBERO OF THE YEAR
Parkside senior Ann Leo
Ann Leo has re-written the Parkside volleyball record books, as the senior broke the all-time digs record earlier this season. She led the team with 513 digs in 2019 and finished averaging 4.75 digs per set. Her total digs number led the conference and was 11th best in Parkside history. She owns four top-11 single season digs records in Parkside history, including second and third. She has played in every match for Parkside over the last four seasons.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Grand Valley St. Jaeli Primus
Grand Valley State freshman Jaeli Primus put together an impressive freshman campaign as middle blocker for the Lakers. The Hudsonville, Mich. native led the GLIAC the entire season in total blocks (117) and blocks per set (1.14), while totaling 255 kills (2.48 kill per set) and a .310 attack percentage. The freshman was named GLIAC South Player of the Week on Nov. 4 after her career-high 16 kill performance with a .640 attack percentage in a 3-1 win over Davenport.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Michigan Tech head coach Matt Jennings
Jennings received GLIAC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career after he guided Michigan Tech to 20 wins for the third season in a row—something that hadn't been done since 1997. The Huskies also had their highest regular season ranking since 1996 when they were No. 20 on November 5. Tech went 6-0 to begin GLIAC play for the first time in over 20 years and is 27-1 in the GLIAC against opponents other than Ferris State over the last two seasons.
A complete list of the 2019 All-GLIAC volleyball teams is below:
| 2019 All-GLIAC Volleyball First Team | ||||
|
Name
|
School
|
Yr.
|
Pos. |
Hometown
|
| Allyson Cappel | Ferris St. | Sr | OH | Tinley Park, Ill. |
| Laura De Marchi | Michigan Tech | Jr | S | Milan, Italy |
| Olivia Ghormley | Michigan Tech | Jr | OH | Oneida, Wis. |
| Sarah Tabit | Saginaw Valley | Sr | OH | Mt. Morris, Mich. |
| Katie O'Connell | Ferris St | Jr | OH | Evergreen Park, Ill. |
| Sophi Cudworth | Ashland | Sr | MB/OH | Kent, Ohio |
| Emily Friesl | Saginaw Valley | Jr | MH | Byron Center, Mich. |
| Courtney Brewer | Ferris St. | Sr | OH | Muskegon, Mich |
| Madelyn Krenz | Wayne St. (Mich.) | Sr | OH/OP | Chenoa, Ill. |
| Maeve Grimes | Ferris St. | Sr | S | Westchester, Ill. |
| Hayley Kreiger | Davenport | So | OH | South Haven, Mich. |
| Zoey Peck | Ashland | So | S | Homeworth, Ohio |
| 2019 All-GLIAC Volleyball Second Team | ||||
| Name | School | Yr. | Pos. | Hometown |
| Brooke Peiffer | Ashland | Jr | OH | Lansing, Mich |
| Ann Leo | Parkside | Sr | DS | Shorewood, Wis. |
| Hannah Tabit | Saginaw Valley | Sr | S | Mt. Morris, Mich. |
| Abigail Durecki | Northern Mich. | Fr | MB | South Lyon, Mich. |
| Jaeli Primus | Grand Valley St. | Fr | MB | Hudsonville, Mich. |
| Ali Thompson | Grand Valley St. | So | MB/RS | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Lizzy Stark | Northern Mich. | So | OH | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Lexi Lombardo | Ashland | Jr | MH | Olmsted Falls, Ohio |
| MacAulay Petersen | Michigan Tech | Jr | OH | Paw Paw, Mich. |
| Erin Krupar | Ashland | So | S | East Sparta, Ohio |
| Kamryn Duffield | Wayne St. (Mich.) | So | S | Romeo, Mich. |
| McKinley Smith | Ashland | Jr | DS/LIB | Orrville, Ohio |
| 2019 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team | ||||
| Name | School | Yr. | Pos. | Hometown |
| Chelsey Farris |
Ashland |
Fr | MB | Elyria, Ohio |
| Sami White | Davenport | Sr | LS | Wabash, Ind. |
| Nina Gorgijevska | Ferris State | Jr | L | Potsdam, Germany |
| Kendall Yerkes | Grand Valley State | Sr | L/DS | Palos Heights, Ill. |
| Amanda Reid | Lake Superior St. | Jr | OH | Norco, Calif. |
| Megan Utlak | Michigan Tech | So | DS | Parma, Ohio |
| Hailey Wickstrom | Northern Michigan | So | RS | Calumet, Mich. |
| Karlie Wengorovius | Northwood | Sr | MB/RS | Dexter, Mich. |
| Annie Pulizos | Purdue Northwest | So | MB | Greendale, Wis. |
| Abbie Toland | Saginaw Valley St | Sr | L/DS | Maumee, Ohio |
| Taylor Wagner | Wayne State | So | OH/MB | St. Joseph, Mich. |
| Rachel Hedman | Parkside | Jr | OH | Stoughton, Wis. |
