Central State's Jazmyne Walker, Ajanae' Cressey and Hailey White earn All-SIAC honors; Ray Lewis named Coach of the Year
ROCK HILL, South Carolina – Central State University volleyball players
Jazmyne Walker,
Ajanae' Cressey and
Hailey White have been selected to the All-SIAC Team while CSU head coach
Ray Lewis has been voted the conference's Coach of the Year.
Walker and Cressey were named to the All-SIAC First Team with Cressey also being named SIAC Freshman of the Year. White earned All-SIAC Second Team honors.
Walker, an outside hitter from Las Vegas, Nevada, has been one of the most consistent offensive performers in the SIAC this season. After missing the first six matches of the year due to injury, Walker emerged as CSU's best offensive threat, leading the team with 321 kills and 365.5 points along with 24 service aces, 27 blocks and 205 digs. Walker ranks among the top three in the SIAC in kills and kills per set with 3.78.
Walker recorded 20 or more kills in five matches this season, including a season-high 28 against Lane.
Cressey, a freshman outside hitter from Las Vegas, Nevada, finished the 2021 regular season with 314 total kills with an average of 3.05 kills per set. She ranked in the top five in kills in the SIAC. She has also accounted for 344 points, 33 blocks and 72 digs.
Cressey recorded a season-high 18 kills twice in matches against Spring Hill and Tuskegee and has earned SIAC Player of the Week honors twice and Newcomer of the Week honors once this season.
White, a 6'0 freshman from Tempe, Arizona, has accounted for 247 kills, 308 points, 32 service aces, 71 digs and a team best 43 blocks. White led CSU attackers and ranked No. 2 in the SIAC with a .328 hitting percentage. White recorded five matches of a .600 or better hitting percentage, including a season-best .889 against LeMoyne-Owen. White's season-high in kills was 19 in a 3-2 win over Kentucky State.
In his first year as head coach of the Central State Lady Marauders,
Ray Lewis has guided a team primarily comprised of freshman and sophomores to the program's first 20+ win season since CSU became an exclusive member of NCAA Div. II.
Under the leadership of Lewis, the CSU women's volleyball program is 21-11 overall with a 14-3 mark in SIAC play. Coach Lewis guided his team to an overall improvement of 12 wins compared to the 2019 season. CSU also experienced its first winning record in conference play resulting in its highest finish in the conference standings since becoming a member of the SIAC.
Lewis becomes the first CSU volleyball coach to earn SIAC Coach of the Year honors.
CSU tied with Kentucky State and Spring Hill for the most all-conference selections with three respectively.
After winning their opening round match against Clark Atlanta in the SIAC Tournament on Monday, CSU advances to play Albany State on Tuesday at 10 am in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Tournament information is available on -
http://thesiac.com/tournaments/?id=44&path=wvball
