BATON ROUGE — Nicholls State’s Caley Carter and Tulane’s Betsy Becker took home the state’s top volleyball honors, being named the Player and Coach of the Year respectively, as the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association named the 12-member All-Louisiana team on Saturday.
In addition to being named the Player of the Year, Carter was also a unanimous selection for Louisiana Newcomer of the Year, while LSU’s Lauren Leaumont was named the Freshman of the Year.
The LSWA All-Louisiana volleyball team was selected by sports information representatives from the state’s 14 volleyball-playing institutions from nominations submitted by the volleyball contacts at those schools. The two six-member teams with honorable mention selections were chosen regardless of position.
Along with Player and Newcomer of the Year honors, Carter was also selected to the All-Louisiana First Team. Joining her on first team were Deva Fowler of Tulane, Sarah Gascon of Southeastern Louisiana, Regan Hood of LSU, Cristine Sant’Anna of Louisiana Tech and Marquita Williams of McNeese State.
A member of the All-Louisiana Second Team, Leaumont is joined Jennifer Cruz of UNO, Karlyn Daly of Tulane, Lindsey Ehlert of UL-Monroe, Anastasia Kenon of Tulane and Lia Mora of Louisiana Tech.
Receiving honorable mention honors were Priscila Augusto of Northwestern State, Nicole James of McNeese State, Daniela Romero of LSU and Elina Salomaki of UL-Lafayette.
A senior from Grand Ben, Kan., Carter led the Lady Colonels and broke the school record for single-season kills. Only the second player in Southland Conference history to earn both Player and Newcomer of the Year honors in the same season, the transfer from Tennessee recorded a career-high 29 kills against Houston.
Ranked second on the team in digs, Carter earned SLC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors as Nicholls State won the conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. In the Lady Colonels’ three tournament matches, she recorded a tournament-best 49 kills, averaging 4.45 kills per game.
A Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team selection, Leaumont led the Tigers in digs and service aces. The New Orleans native had a team-best 10 double-doubles, including three matches with over 20 kills. Against Mississippi State, she recorded a career-best 24 kills and 16 digs.
In her fifth season as the head coach at Tulane, Becker led her team to a 25-7 record, the Green Wave’s best record since 1987. Combining with 2002’s 21-14 mark, Tulane posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1986-1987.
This season, the Green Wave ranked 20th in the NCAA in digs per game and 26th nationally in blocks per game, while holding opponents to a C-USA best .158 attacking percentage. In addition, Becker guided three players to all-conference honors, including two first-teams and the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year.
An honorable mention All-American, Fowler was named to the All-Midwest and All-Conference USA teams. She led the league and ranked 15th in the NCAA in blocks per game. In addition, the junior from San Diego, Calif., led the Green Wave in kills and service aces. In 25 of Tulane’s 32 matches, she recorded double-digit kill totals, including a career- best 21 kills against South Florida and Marquette.
The NCAA leader in digs per game for the second straight season, Gascon set a Southeastern Louisiana and SLC record with 786 digs and 6.66 digs per game. With both SLC and Louisiana career digs records, the senior from San Pedro, Calif., recorded 19 matches with 20 or more digs, including an NCAA Division I-best 49 digs vs. Lamar. With the third-most career digs in NCAA history, Gascon was a nine-time SLC Defensive Player of the Week.
A second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection, Hood led the Tigers in kills and blocks and recorded the first triple-double at LSU in over two years. With seven 20-plus kill matches, the junior from Carrollton, Texas, recorded the most single-season kills at LSU since 1996 and ranked fifth in the conference in kills per game. Against Arkansas, she recorded a career-best 27 kills, while knocking down a career-best 10 blocks against Mississippi State.
The Louisiana Tech team leader in kills, Sant’Anna posted eight matches with 20 or more kills. With 439 kills, the senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, ranks third in single-season kills in Lady Techster history. She also became just the fourth person at Tech to recorded 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. Twice during the season she recorded a career-best 24 kills, while posting a career-high 19 digs at Rice.
A first-team All-Southland Conference selection, Williams led the Cowgirls in kills, hitting percentage and blocks. The sophomore from Baton Rouge also ranked fifth in the league in hitting percentage, third in kills and eighth in blocks. Against Sam Houston State, she recorded a career-best 25 kills, one of eight matches with more than 20 kills. After just two seasons, she ranks eighths in career kills and sixth in total attempts and blocks in McNeese State history.
2003 LSWA All-Louisiana Selections
First Team
Name Position School
Caley Carter Outside Hitter Nicholls State
Deva Fowler Middle Blocker Tulane
Sarah Gascon Libero Southeastern Louisiana
Regan Hood Middle Blocker LSU
Cristine Sant’Anna Right Side Louisiana Tech
Marquita Williams Middle Blocker McNeese State
Second Team
Name Position School
Jennifer Cruz Outside Hitter UNO
Karlyn Daly Libero Tulane
Lindsey Ehlert Outside Hitter UL-Monroe
Anastasia Kenon Outside Hitter Tulane
Lauren Leaumont Outside Hitter LSU
Lia Mora Setter Louisiana Tech
Honorable Mention: Priscila Augusto, Northwestern State; Nicole James, McNeese State; Daniela Romero, LSU; Elina Salomaki, UL-Lafayette
Player of the Year: Caley Carter, Nicholls State
Newcomer of the Year: Caley Carter, Nicholls State
Freshman of the Year: Lauren Leaumont, LSU
Coach of the Year: Betsy Becker, Tulane