CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Missouri State’s Lily Johnson is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, Daniele Messa is the Freshman of the Year, and Melissa Stokes is the Coach of the Year, headlining a large contingent of Bears honored at the league’s annual pre-tournament awards ceremony Thursday (Nov. 24) at the McLeod Center. Johnson, Messa and Simone House earned first-team all-conference honors, Lynsey Wright is a second-team pick, and Messa is also an all-freshman selection.
Johnson is the first MSU player to win multiple league MVP honors and the seventh MVC player to do so, and joins Calli Norman, Carly Thomas and Linette White as Missouri State’s only three-time first-team all-MVC picks. The junior outside hitter from Wildwood, Mo., is now the fourth player in league history to lead the conference in kills three times, and averages 4.59 kills, 5.16 points, 3.01 digs, 0.36 aces and 0.35 blocks per set with a .236 hitting percentage.
A four-time MVC Player of the Week in 2016, Johnson is currently on a school-record streak of 43 consecutive matches with at least 10 kills, recently moved to No. 2 on MSU’s career kills list with 1,670, and became the sixth member of the Bears’ 1,000-kill, 1,000-dig club in October. She also joined the MVC’s career top 10 in total kills last week and has 21 kill-dig double-doubles on the season.
Missouri State’s seventh MVC Freshman of the Year, Messa set a league record with seven MVC Freshman of the Week honors in 2016, including six in a row from Oct. 10-Nov. 15. The Bartlett, Ill., native has 1,187 assists this season to rank second all-time among MSU freshmen, and leads the conference in league matches with 774 total assists and an 11.22 average. Messa also averages 2.61 digs and 0.19 aces per set while helping MSU to a .240 team hitting percentage and a 23-4 record since becoming the full-time starter on Sept. 3.
A second-team selection last season, House moves to the first team after averaging 2.07 kills and 0.91 blocks per set while starting all 32 matches this season. The senior middle blocker ranks fifth in the MVC with .329 overall attack efficiency, and hit .345 in league matches. The Oshkosh, Wis., native’s .313 career hitting percentage ranks third in MSU history, and she has led the Bears in blocking 21 times this season with eight matches with 10 or more kills and eight more with at least five blocks.
Wright ranks second on the Bears with 305 kills (2.65/set) and 72 blocks (0.63/set) while hitting .280 and serving 20 aces on the year. The junior middle from Glen Carbon, Ill., has 16 matches with at least 10 kills, with a high of 20 in the Bears’ Sept. 9 victory over 12th-ranked Ohio State that helped her earn MVC Player of the Week honors. Wright has hit .300 or better in 13 matches this season, eclipsing the .400 mark on 10 occasions.
Stokes picks up her second MVC Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Bears to their fourth regular-season conference title. After an 0-2 MVC start, the Bears reeled off 16 consecutive wins, the longest MVC streak in school history and the school’s longest overall streak since winning 18 matches in a row in 2003. MSU’s 25 wins so far in 2016 represent the team’s highest total since 2007.
The top-seeded Bears (25-7, 16-2) begin MVC Tournament play Friday at 5 p.m. against the winner of Thursday’s contest between Southern Illinois and Illinois State.
First Team
Kayla Haneline, UNI
Amie Held, UNI
Emily Hiebert, WSU
Simone House, MSU
Lily Johnson, MSU
Jaelyn Keene, ILS
Jody Larson, WSU
Abbie Lehman, WSU
Daniele Messa, MSU
Courtney Pence, ILS
Morgan Reardon, LUC
Alex Rosignol, SIU
Bri Weber, UNI
Second Team
Tabitha Brown, WSU
Andrea Estrada, SIU
Heather Hook, UNI
Gabi Maciagowski, LUC
Mikaela Raudsepp, WSU
Kendyl Sorge, UNI
Lynsey Wright, MSU
Freshman Team
Ella Francis, ILS
Daniele Messa, MSU
Damadj Johnson, INS
Ginger Perinar, SIU
Quinn Spieker, LUC
Delilah Wolf, LUC
Specialty Awards
Player of the Year: Lily Johnson, MSU
Setter of the Year: Emily Hiebert, WSU
Libero of the Year: Courtney Pence, ILS
Freshman of the Year: Daniele Messa, MSU
Coach of the Year: Melissa Stokes, MSU
