TOLEDO, Ohio --- Maddie White, a freshman outside hitter for the No. 2 Owens volleyball team, highlighted her team's representation as the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) postseason awards were announced on Monday.
White was named the conference's Division III player of the year and the OCCAC's top freshman, while McKenna Babcock, Sydnie Meinke, Alexis Sarvo and White each earned First Team All-OCCAC recognition. Ashley Scott was named Honorable Mention All-OCCAC while White and Babcock both ended up on the league's all-freshman team.
"This is a great tribute to our team to have that many players selected," Owens head coach Sonny Lewis said. "Maddie is a team leader who performed well in a multitude of roles for us this year. McKenna, Sydnie, Alexis and Ashley were also big factors to our team's success in many different ways."
White (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf HS) has compiled 314 kills, a .281 hitting percentage, 126 assists, 28 aces, 267 digs and 54 blocks (15 solo) through 31 matches played. Thus far, she has seven double-doubles, including one triple-double. On Sept. 3 against St. Clair County, she notched season-best totals in kills (19) and digs (27). Then, on Oct. 16, she produced 14 kills, 19 assists and 13 digs in another five-set win over St. Clair County. On Oct. 12 against Edison, she had a season-best 24 assists. Overall, she has 14 matches with 10+ kills, five with 10+ assists and 11 with 10+ digs.
Babcock (Metamora, Ohio/Evergreen HS) is second on the team with 250 kills along with a .251 hitting percentage, seven assists, 229 digs and 39 blocks (three solo). She has 11 matches with 10+ kills, including a season-high 16 twice, while tallying five double-doubles. Among those, her season-best performance came on Oct. 16 against Rochester University's JV team in which she had 14 kills and a season-high 21 digs. She also racked up eight matches with double-digit digs entering national tournament play.
Meinke (Curtice, Ohio/Clay HS) exploded onto the scene in early October and has been a force for the Express since then. Through the season's first 20 matches, she totaled just 28 kills and had one match with 10+ digs, which came on Sept. 3 against Rock Valley. Since then, she has had three double-doubles, including six matches with 10+ kills and five with 10+ digs. On Oct. 12, she registered 10 kills and a season-high 20 digs. In total, she has registered 103 kills over the past 12 matches.
Sarvo (Swanton, Ohio/Swanton HS) has been one of the nation's most dominant forces defensively at the net, racking up 82 blocks, which is tied for the fifth-most in the country. On top of that, she's totaled 163 kills, 11 assists, 13 aces and 31 digs over 29 matches. On Sept. 11, she notched a season-best 11 kills.
Scott (Russia, Ohio/Russia HS), who had a season-best 10 kills along with 10 digs in a Sept. 4 win over the College of DuPage, totaled 158 kills, 24 aces, 136 digs and 27 blocks. She had a season-best 13 digs against Rock Valley on Sept. 3 and has compiled three matches with double-digit digs.
The group has led No. 2 Owens to a 26-7 record and a berth in the NJCAA Division III national tournament in Rochester, Minn. Nov. 11-13. The Express claimed the program's sixth-straight district championship, including the third-straight at the Division III level, this past Saturday. In fact, the program is now 37-3 in postseason play over the past five-plus seasons with two national titles, a national runner-up finish, a third-place finish and a ninth-place finish. Since moving to the Division III level, the Red and White are 19-0 over the past two-plus seasons and have dropped just three total sets over those 19 matches.
2021 OCCAC Postseason Awards
Player of the Year - Olivia Materni, Terra State
Coach of the Year - Stephanie Champine, Terra State
D-III Player of the Year - Maddie White, Owens
Setter of the Year - Karagyn Durco, Terra State
Libero of the Year - Katelyn Sosby, Edison State
Freshman of the Year - Maddie White, Owens
First Team
McKenna Babcock, Owens
Vanecia Billings, Lorain County
Lindsey Brayton, Clark State
Karagyn Durco, Terra State
Jakyla Jackson, Terra State
Olivia Materni, Terra State
Sydnie Meinke, Owens
Alexis Sarvo, Owens
Brianna Slusher, Edison State
Katelyn Sosby, Edison State
Elizabeth Wells, Terra State
Maddie White, Owens
Honorable Mention
SiAyera Boone, Terra State
Josie Crabtree, Hocking College
Allie Dewitt, Clark State
Anna Lewis, Lakeland
Sarah Pothast, Edison State
Kamie Reeser, Lorain County
Ashley Scott, Owens
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