Tweet

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech senior Felicia Willoughby picked up yet another postseason honor this morning, as she was named University Division All-State Player of the Year by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID). Willoughby and sophomore Cara Baarendse both picked up First Team All-State selections, while junior Erin Leaser earned second team honors.

Felicia Willoughby received the second-most number of votes overall, and was one of just two players to be named on every ballot. Cara Barrendse, who finished third in the Player of the Year voting and third in the overall vote, was named on 20 of the 22 ballots, while Head Coach Chris Riley earned the second-most votes in the Coach of the Year category.

Felicia Willoughby, Tech’s first ever two-time All-American, finished off her career at Virginia Tech after garnering the national honor for a third time. Additionally, she was named AVCA All-East Region and to the All-ACC team for the third year in a row, after earning ACC Freshman of the Year and East Region Rookie of the Year in 2007. She is the first volleyball player in Tech history to make an All-ACC team all four years or to make the all-region team more than once. Lisa Pikalek ’92 is the only other Tech player to earn four all-conference selections, which she did back when Virginia Tech played for the Metro Conference. The senior from Pleasanton, Calif., demonstrated outstanding leadership as one of the team’s captains, helping to guide the team to its first ever defeat of an AVCA nationally-ranked top-25 team, its first ever NCAA Tournament bid and victory, as well as several key wins over regionally-ranked and national top-50 teams.

Willoughby began the season on a strong note, earning her third straight Preseason All-ACC honor and being named to the all-tournament team in all four of Tech’s preseason tournaments. Willoughby once again led the Hokies in blocks on the season, with 22 solo and 102 assists for a total of 124, averaging 1.03, which ranked her ninth in the ACC. Additionally, she was second on the team in kills (328) and hitting percentage (.364), and her impressive attack clip ranked her third in the ACC and 40th in the nation.

Felicia will graduate from Tech as one of the most accomplished and decorated players in school history. She set two new career blocking records earlier this year and has extended a huge lead over the previous record-holders in both categories, as she leads the career block assists list by 80, with 454, and total blocks by 58, with 552. She also set a new all-time record in career hitting percentage, finishing seven points ahead of Katie Esbrook’s mark of .324 with a career clip of .331. Moreover, she finished in fifth all-time in career block solos (98) and career kills (1,289).

Cara Baarendse, who also earned All-America Honorable Mention, AVCA All-East Region and All-ACC honors this season, was named to the all-state team for the first time. The sophomore from Mason, Ohio, had a phenomenal year in the front row, finishing second in the ACC in hitting percentage and ranking 24th in the nation, hitting .376. She was eighth in the ACC in kills, earning 385 on the season, for an average of 3.24 per set, and she finished tied for second on the team with 14 service aces.

Baarendse got off to a great start, earning three all-tournament selections and being named MVP of the Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational and the Western Kentucky Tournament. She hit .491 with 31 kills at Tech’s home tournament, which was enough to earn a spot on CVU.com’s national Top Performers list for the week. Her .376 clip this season puts her second on the Hokies’ all-time single-season list, and if she continues to play as consistently and efficiently as she has been, she is well on her way to setting a new all-time career hitting percentage, as she is currently 38 points ahead of Willoughby’s new record, hitting .369 over her first two seasons.

Erin Leaser earned 21 points in the voting process, naming her Second Team All-State for the second consecutive year. Leaser finished second in the ACC and 27^th in the nation in assists per set, putting up 1,336 on the season for an average of 11.13. This was Leaser’s third consecutive season with 1,000-plus assists, and she now sits in fourth place all-time at Virginia Tech with 3,755.

The junior from Allentown, Pa., was the first Hokie of the year to earn Virginia Tech Athlete of the Week, as she received the honor on Aug. 30 after nothing 103 assists, 28 digs, 12 blocks, 14 kills and struck at a team-leading .393 hitting percentage at the Comcast Lady Vol Classic to open the season. On Oct. 29, Leaser notched a career-high 68 assists to help the Hokies acheive their first-ever victory over a ranked opponent, defeating No. 25 Florida State. Her 68 assists was the most for a Hokie since Melissa Markowski notched 70 against Rutgers back on Oct. 13, 2002. Finally, she was one kill shy of a triple-double on Oct. 15 in the 3-0 sweep of Wake Forest, registering 34 assists, 11 digs and a career-high nine kills in just three sets.

In addition to this year’s team members, Head Coach Chris Riley earned seven votes in the Coach of the Year category, finishing second in the race, after leading the Hokies to an outstanding season. Riley’s leadership along with his forethought to schedule several difficult but winnable non-conference matches, played a huge part in Tech’s successful season, which was capped off by the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament bid and victory.

VaSID First Team All-State
Karyl Bacon, Liberty - 43 points
Felicia Willoughby, VT - 38 points
Cara Baarendse, VT - 34 points
Simone Asque, UVA - 31 points
Jess O'Shoney, UVA - 27 points
Ginny Bray, W&M - 26 points

VaSID Second Team All-State
Lindsay Callahan, JMU - 21 points
Kelsie Clegg, VCU - 21 points
Erin Leaser, VT - 21 points
Jade Craycraft, Liberty - 20 points
Danielle Erb, JMU - 20 points
AJ Cushman, UVA - 18 points
Kelly Haseman, Liberty - 18 points

VaSID Player of the Year
Felicia Willoughby, VT - 9
Karyl Bacon, Liberty - 7
Cara Baarendse, VT - 4
AJ Cushman, UVA - 1
Simone Asque, UVA - 1

VaSID Rookie of the Year
McKenzie Adams, UVA – 11
Jade Craycraft, Liberty – 10
Lillie Happel, Liberty - 1

VaSID Coach of the Year
Lauren Steinbrecher, JMU – 14
Chris Riley, VT – 7
Shane Pinder, Liberty - 1

For updates on Virginia Tech volleyball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_VBall).