Eash, Tracy and Willis pick up honorable mentions
AVON, Ohio — Goshen College sophomore middle hitter Elizabeth Breckbill earned second-team billing from the Crossroads League’s women’s volleyball coaches when the league released its 2018 postseason all-conference teams on Tuesday.
Three of her teammates made the honorable mention list as Taylor Eash, MacKinnon Tracy and Naomi Willis were also recognized.
Breckbill hit .255 for the season, a mark that led the team and tied her for fifth in the conference. Over the course of 123 sets, she recorded 253 kills with nine matches of 10 or more. She set a new career high with 13 kills in the season opener against Governors State, then bettered that with 20 in the first conference match against Huntington on August 29. In addition, she recorded 4 or more blocks in a match 8 times, finishing ninth in the league with 96 stuffs.
The Kidron, Ohio, native hit .289 in the conference round robin, where she was one of two Maple Leafs to play every set. In conference play, she finished third in hitting percentage and recorded 149 kills and 48 blocks.
Eash, a middle hitter from Topeka, Indiana, finished second on the team with 94 blocks, two behind Breckbill. In conference play, the sophomore from Westview High School led the team with 45 block assists and 8 solos, taking ninth in the league. Her single-match high of 6 blocks came on October 5 in a five-setter against Huntington. Eash also recorded 191 kills and a .194 hitting percentage for the year.
Tracy, a defensive specialist from New Carlisle, Indiana, led GC with 311 digs in her senior season. She accumulated 184 digs in 62 sets in conference play for an average of nearly 3.0 per set. The New Prairie High School graduate posted a .960 service efficiency in league action. She will graduate with 1,175 digs and a .908 service efficiency for her career: her season high of 22 aces came against Grace in September, but her career high was 25, set three times in 2017. Tracy also recorded 23 aces this season and 95 over four years.
Willis, a native of Granger, Indiana, rounded out Goshen’s all-conference awards for her work as a setter. After joining the Maple Leafs from Penn High School, she led the team with 449 assists, an average of almost 4.5 per set played, and had 10 or more assists 19 times. Willis picked up 265 of those assists in 59 sets during the conference season. She added 9 aces and 114 digs in league play. Her season highs for a single match included 30 assists (Aug. 29 against Huntington), 3 aces (Oct. 5 at Huntington) and 13 digs (Sept. 28 at Mount Vernon Nazarene).
The Crossroads League selects all-conference teams in each of the league’s 17 sponsored sports. In soccer, as in many sports, the winners are determined by the votes of the 10 head coaches.
Grace’s Caylie Teel was named conference player and hitter of the year while Saint Francis took the other two positional awards, with Maria Pelak winning setter of the year and Valorie Flick taking home libero of the year. Indiana Wesleyan’s Ana Collar was named top freshman and Marian’s Ashlee Pritchard was coach of the year.
The complete list of all-conference award recipients can be found below.
2018 All-Crossroads League First-Team
Amanda Adams, Taylor
Ana Collar, Indiana Wesleyan
Stephaney Fifield, Spring Arbor
Valorie Flick, Saint Francis
Alexa Hill, Grace
Samantha Korn, Taylor
Kelly Miller, Indiana Wesleyan
Marci Miller, Indiana Wesleyan
Maria Pelak, Saint Francis
Kendra Siefring, Saint Francis
Sarah Spangler, Marian
Caylie Teel, Grace
Hannah Trout, Marian
Skyler Van Note, Marian
2018 All-Crossroads League Second-Team
Payton Anderson, Bethel
Marta Bleed, Grace
Elizabeth Breckbill, Goshen
Ryan Czerniak, Taylor
Paige Eakright, Huntington
Megan Graber, Indiana Wesleyan
Haley Harrell, Taylor
Megan Hawley, Marian
Brandy Michie, Huntington
Kristen Osborn, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Cassidy Rammel, Saint Francis
Sydney Ritz, Spring Arbor
Kassandra Williams, Bethel
Kelsee Zuidema, Grace
2018 All-Crossroads League Honorable Mention
Abby Armold, Bethel
Madyson Beaver, Bethel
Ariene Butler, Huntington
Anne Clark, Saint Francis
Bridget Downs, Bethel
Katelyn Dufur, Mount Vernon Nazarene
Taylor Eash, Goshen
Claudia Ellis, Spring Arbor
Alison Ford, Spring Arbor
Gina Novotny, Grace
Abigail Rutt, Indiana Wesleyan
Tailor Schultheis, Huntington
Nicki Sechrist, Taylor
Annica Stotz, Spring Arbor
Anne Strevels, Marian
Jenna Tacosik, Huntington
MacKinnon Tracy, Goshen
Naomi Willis, Goshen
Nicole Winkler, Mount Vernon Nazarene
2018 Crossroads League All-Freshmen Team
Ana Collar, Indiana Wesleyan
Ryan Czerniak, Taylor
Claudia Ellis, Spring Arbor
Kendyll Gebert, Indiana Wesleyan
Makaela Lochmueller, Grace
Sarah Spangler, Marian
Skyler Van Note, Marian
