Loper Named Player of the Year, All-Conference Team Announced
LA GRANDE, Ore. – For the second season in a row, Eastern Oregon’s Casey Loper has been crowned the Cascade Collegiate Conference volleyball Player of the Year by a vote of the CCC coaches.
Loper, a 5-foot-10 senior middle hitter from Powell Butte, Ore., finished the year as one of the top offensive performers in the conference, leading Eastern to its first conference regular season title in school history. In her final year, Loper ended the season as the conference leader in attacking percentage at .344 percent and in total kills with 409, an average of 4.17 kills per set.
Concordia’s Lindsey Dorsey was chosen as the CCC's Freshman of the Year. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter from Salem, Ore. finished the season sixth in kills with 341 total, and had the seventh best hitting percentage in the CCC at .273 percent.
Eastern Oregon received another honor when Jessalyn Smith was awarded conference Defensive Specialist/Libero of the Year. Smith, a 5-foot-6 senior libero from Boise, Idaho, led all Cascade Conference players with 5.54 digs per set, totaling 587 on the year.
Eastern’s Kaki Morehead was named the Coach of the Year after leading her team to a first place finish in the season standings and their fourth consecutive playoff berth with a 26-4 overall record, going 16-2 in conference. Morehead also brought the Mountaineers their first ever appearance in the NAIA Volleyball National Championship.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Casey Loper, Sr., MH, Eastern Oregon
DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST/LIBERO OF THE YEAR: Jessalyn Smith, Sr., Eastern Oregon
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Lindsey Dorsey, OH, Concordia
COACH OF THE YEAR: Kaki Morehead, Eastern Oregon
FIRST TEAM
|
Name |
Institution |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
|
Chelsea McGowan |
Northwest Christian |
MB |
Sr. |
Harrisburg, Ore. |
|
Casey Loper |
Eastern Oregon |
MH |
Jr. |
Powell Butte, Ore. |
|
Janessa White |
Warner Pacific |
OH |
So. |
Salem, Ore. |
|
Lindsey Dorsey |
Concordia |
OH |
Fr. |
Salem, Ore. |
|
Motade Atanda |
Southern Oregon |
OH |
Sr. |
San Jose, Calif. |
|
Kylie Porter |
College of Idaho |
M |
Jr. |
Boise, Idaho |
|
Paulla Pinheiro |
Southern Oregon |
OH |
Sr. |
Fortaleza, Brazil |
|
Rachelle Chamberlain |
Eastern Oregon |
S |
So. |
Challis, Idaho |
|
Sierra Porter |
College of Idaho |
S |
Jr. |
Eagle, Idaho |
|
Brianna Hogan |
Concordia |
MB |
Jr. |
Portland, Ore. |
|
Kelsey Sampson |
Oregon Tech |
OH |
So. |
Folsom, Calif. |
|
Jessalyn Smith |
Eastern Oregon |
L |
Sr. |
Boise, Idaho |
|
Leia Roy |
Northwest |
L |
So. |
Puyallup, Wash. |
|
Brookelynn Cole |
Southern Oregon |
L |
Sr. |
Portland, Ore. |
HONORABLE MENTION: Emily Ottinger, Sr., College of Idaho, Lauren McGowne, So., Southern Oregon, Dakota Adams, So., Northwest, Madisen Garlie, So., Oregon Tech, Chandler Gabrio, Jr., Northwest Christian, Shantelle Hill, Fr., Corban