BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Arkansas at Monticello volleyball team landed two players on the All-Gulf South Conference West Division First Team and one player on the second team, while also having its head coach named GSC-West Coach of the Year.
 
Senior middle blockers Cayla Knapp (South Lake Tahoe, Calif.) and Mallory Storm (Collinsville, Ill.) both earned All-GSC First Team honors, while senior opposite hitter Nicole Ferguson (Brentwood, Tenn.) made the second team.
 
Additionally, head coach Nicole Smith was named the GSC-West Coach of the Year after leading the Cotton Blossoms from a preseason fifth place prediction to a second place finish in the division, the highest in the program’s five-year history, all five years under the direction of Smith.
 
Knapp and Storm become the second and third players in UAM history to be named to the first team, while Ferguson joins a list of four other Cotton Blossoms to earn second team honors.
 
“I am extremely proud of the leadership these three have provided,” said Smith. “Mallory and Cayla have been huge threats all season long both offensively and defensively, and Nicole has really been a huge asset to our program, not just this season, but all four years as a starter.”
 
Harding’s Manuela Nesheva defended her reign as the GSC-West Player of the Year, while Ouachita Baptist’s Allison Frizell was voted the GSC-West Freshman of the Year.