RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Oklahoma Baptist libero
Maci Langford became just the second Bison to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors as the Great American Conference announced its all-conference selections Wednesday.
Langford, a junior from Arlington, Texas, joins Kaitlyn Lucy (2015) as the only Bison to win top defensive honors.
In addition to that, OBU was well-represented on the three All-GAC teams. Earning All-GAC First Team honors were Langford and outside hitter
D'Erricka Frierson.
For Langford, she tallied at least 20 digs in 15 matches including a record 37 during the three-set win over Henderson State on Sept. 29. By the end of the regular season, Langford, a four-time GAC Player of the Week selection, led the GAC with a 6.18 digs-per-set average.
Making the All-GAC team for the first time was Frierson, a native of McKinney, Texas. She finished fourth in points (223.5) and sixth in kills per set (3.39). Frierson also accumulated 10 double-doubles, reached 10+ kills in 18 matches and notched a career-high 19 kills in the Sept. 3 home match against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
A pair of Bison middle blockers,
Avery Hellmuth and
Jill Leslie, garnered second-team accolades.
Hellmuth found herself among the best attackers and blockers this fall. She ranked second in blocks (1.05) and fifth in attack percentage (.297). The native of Dallas had numerous matches that saw her pack the stat sheet. On Sept. 2, she recorded 20 kills and a .474 attack mark against Newman; versus Southern Nazarene on Nov. 1, she tied her career high with eight total blocks; Hellmuth was also a solid server, tallying multiple aces in eight matches including five against Arkansas-Monticello on Oct. 7.
As for Leslie, who redshirted last year, she made an impact in her first full playing season for the Bison. She was second in attack percentage (.333) and seventh in blocks (0.95). She hit .333 or above 15 times this fall including an incredible .700 during the Sept. 15 road match at Southeastern Oklahoma State. Leslie also registered at least four blocks in 11 matches.
Rounding out OBU's selections was senior right side
Taneyah Brown. Now a three-time All-GAC honoree, Brown earned honorable mention recognition. In eight matches this season, she tallied 10+ kills including a season-best 15 against Spring Hill on Sept. 15. Brown also registered a career-high 23 digs against Southeastern on Nov. 3. Additionally, she notched multiple blocks in 19 contests.
There were also a couple Bison that earned GAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors. Those were
Audrey Poupard and
Rylen Moore.
