Holmes Named SCIAC Newcomer of the Year, Joined on First Team by Williams, Sawyer

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Holmes was named the SCIAC Volleyball Newcomer of the Year and was joined on the SCIAC all-league first team by senior right-side hitter Melanie Williams and first-year middle blocker Audrey Sawyer, the league office announced today.

CMS also had junior outside hitter Jackie Jones and sophomore setter Georgia McGovern earn spots on the All-SCIAC second team, giving the Athenas a league-high five honorees, following a season in which they earned the first perfect regular season in SCIAC play (16-0) in program history. 

Holmes was a big part of that success in her first season of intercollegiate competition, after missing her first year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She began her career with a flourish, recording 21 kills in a 3-1 win over UC Santa Cruz, including match point at 24-23 in the fourth set, and ended with a flourish too, recording 20 kills in a 3-1 win over Whittier, including match point at 24-23 in the fourth set. She ended the regular season with a team-high 263 kills on the season, hitting .283, while also tallying 201 digs. 

Williams had a breakthrough season on the right side as well, finishing a close second to Holmes in kills on the Athenas with 251, while hitting an impressive .324 from the outside. She also contributed to 48 blocks and was twice named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Week, including once after hitting .800 with 16 kills in 20 attempts and no errors in a 3-0 win over Cal Lutheran. 

Sawyer had a big impact in her rookie season with the Athenas, helping to solidify the middle position which was the biggest question mark for CMS heading into this season after losing starting middles Melanie Moore and Regan Dinovitz from the 2019 team. She enters the postseason hitting .393 on the year with 177 kills in 354 attempts, which puts her well ahead of pace to break the CMS record for hitting percentage in a season (.355, held by Moore).

Jones has also earned a SCIAC Athlete of the Week honor for CMS after a huge day when the Athenas swept the No. 1 (Trinity) and No. 2 (Emory) teams in the nation four hours apart at the East-West Battle, hosted by Cal Lutheran. She set a career-high with 20 kills in the Emory win, which she passed with 22 in a five-set win over Chapman on Tuesday. She has tallied 201 kills on the season, to go along with 157 digs, and enters the postseason hitting .287 on the year. 

McGovern was named the SCIAC Specialist of the Week after recording 50 assists in her collegiate debut against UC Santa Cruz on Sept. 3. Since opening day, she has since split time at setter in a 6-2 system and has still tallied 660 assists on the season (7.50 per set), helping the Athenas lead the nation in hitting percentage (.296), as well as both assists per set and kills per set. She also leads the team with 39 aces and has tallied 157 digs on the year. 

CMS opens SCIAC Tournament play on Thursday when it hosts Cal Lutheran in one of two semifinals, beginning at 7 p.m. The winner of that one will move on to the championship on Saturday against the winner between Pomona-Pitzer and Chapman, which the Athenas would also host as the top seed if they won their semifinal.