2016 All-GLIAC Teams

Three Grand Valley State volleyball players collected All-GLIAC honors on Saturday (Nov. 19), with sophomore middle blocker Staci Brower being named to the All-GLIAC First Team for the second year in a row. Freshman right side Jayci Suseland earned All-GLIAC Second Team honors, while junior setter Katie Olson garnered Honorable Mention plaudits.
 
The awards were announced between the two semifinal matches at the GLIAC Tournament on Saturday afternoon. Coaches throughout the league voted on the all-conference teams.
 
Brower joined some elite company at GVSU with her second All-GLIAC First Team award. She became just the 16th player in Laker history to earn a pair of First Team honors and the first since former setter and current assistant coach Kaitlyn Wolters did so in 2013 and 2014. Brower, a sophomore, is the 14th Laker to earn two All-GLIAC First Team honors and has the chance over the next two years to join Carly Miller (2000, 2001, 2002) and Rebeccah Rapin (2008, 2009, 2010) as the only three-time First Team honorees in program history.
 
For the second year in a row, Brower is one of the top blockers in the conference. Her 34 solo blocks are second-most in the GLIAC, while she ranks third with 1.10 blocks per set, fourth with 119 total rejections, and seventh with 85 block assists. Offensively, Brower's .290 hitting percentage is eighth-best in the league and she is 11th in points per set (3.7) and 16th in both total kills (315) and kills per set (2.92).
 
In GLIAC regular season play, Brower upped her blocks per set figure to 1.17 (second in the GLIAC), while finishing third in solo blocks (20), fourth in total rejections (74), and fifth in block assists (54). She was also seventh in hitting percentage, ninth in points per set, and 14th in kills and kills per set in conference matches.
 
Not only was Brower a 2015 All-GLIAC First Team choice, she was also named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year last season, only the fifth Laker to earn that honor. With 315 kills and 119 total blocks, Brower was one of just three GLIAC players this season to eclipse both the 300-kill and 100-block marks. She recorded 10 or more kills in 18 matches and also four or more blocks in 18 matches this season.
 
Suseland led the Lakers with 376 kills this season, while hitting .249 and totaling 67 blocks as a true freshman. In GLIAC play, she ranked third among all players in the league with 236 total kills, 3.75 kills per set, and 4.2 points per set. Suseland was also 11th in hitting percentage (.267), 12th in block assists (45), 13th in total blocks (53), and 18th in blocks per set (0.84).
 
A starter in all 29 matches this season, Suseland's 3.51 kills per set were fourth-most of any player in the league. Her 376 total kills and 3.9 points per set were eighth-best among GLIAC players. She posted 10 or more kills in 21 matches during her rookie season, including a streak of 12 consecutive midseason matches and her final five contests of the year. Suseland's top individual performance was a 27-kill tally (to go with a .468 hitting percentage) in a 3-1 win over McKendree on Oct. 15. No Laker has recorded more than 27 kills in a match since the 2005 season.
 
Olson earns her first All-GLIAC laurels as an Honorable Mention selection. The Lakers' starting setter in all 29 matches, the junior posted 884 assists and 8.19 assists per set, both of which were 13th in the league. Olson passed for 30 or more assists in 16 of the team's 29 contests, including a career-best 50 assists in the team's 3-1 win over Tiffin on Oct. 7.
 
She also picked up 312 digs or 2.89 per set, both of which placed her 28th in the GLIAC. Olson served an ace in 14 matches and posted 43 kills and 17 total blocks on the year, while totaling 18 double-doubles (assists and digs).
 
The 2016 GLIAC Player of the Year was Ferris State's Stephanie Sikorski, who was also the league's Setter of the Year. FSU's Allyson Cappel won the Freshman of the Year award, while Tia Brandel-Wilhelm was tabbed the Coach of the Year. Tiffin collected a pair of GLIAC awards as freshman Jenna Huffman (Blocker of the Year) and junior Taylor Lattimore (Libero of the Year) were joined by Findlay's Hannah Tong (Attacker of the Year) as the other major award winners.