Official D2 CCA Volleyball All-Region Release
D2CCA - Ferris State junior Allyson Cappel was selected as the 2019 D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year following voting conducted by the region's sports information directors. Michigan Tech's Olivia Ghormley and Laura De Marchi were selected All-Region first team, while Emily Friesl from Saginaw Valley St. was named All-Region second team.
Cappel was named to the D2CCCA All-Region squad for the third time in her career, including the third-straight season as a first-team choice. 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 has 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.
Ghormley 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.
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.
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.
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies, and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
