Holmes, Carranza Earn SCIAC Athlete of the Year Honors for CMS Volleyball

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Junior outside hitter Jenna Holmes was named the SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year, and sophomore libero Dede Carranza captured the SCIAC Defensive Player of the Year award in a vote of the league's coaches the conference office announced today.

Head Coach Kurt Vlasich and assistant coaches Morgan Coberly, Melanie Hughes and Dani McCree were named the SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year after leading the Athenas to a perfect regular season (26-0) and a No. 1 national ranking. Joining Holmes and Carranza on the All-SCIAC first team were Brenna Bell, Georgia McGovern, and Audrey Sawyer, while Summer Ellis was chosen to the second team. 

Holmes was named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year last year as a sophomore (coming off a COVID cancelation in her first year) and followed it up wih the Offensive Athlete of the Year this season. She earned National Player of the Week honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association after leading CMS to a 3-0 record at the East-West Battle, with wins over Johns Hopkins, Trinity and host Emory. She leads CMS with 280 kills on the year, hitting .299, and has added 250 digs as a six-rotation player, who also plays on the back row. She had a high of 21 kills in a win over No. 7 NYU, and added 19 against Colorado College, 18 against Johns Hopkins and 17 against Trinity, all of which were nationally ranked. 

Carranza has been a big part of a defense that has allowed opponents to hit just .108 on the season, tallying a team-best 384 digs (4.68 per set). She had a season-high 26 digs against Trinity, and added 21 against Emory and 15 against Johns Hopkins to earn a spot on the All-Tournament team at the East-West Battle. She closed out the regular season with 24 digs against La Verne, her highest total in conference play this fall, and has also added a team-best 31 service aces and contributed 80 assists. 

Bell is currently hitting .416 from her right-side hitter position, on pace to break the school record set last year by Audrey Sawyer. She had a season-high 16 kills in 23 attempts in a win over Emory, and has hit .500 or better eight times this season. Sawyer is on pace to break her own school record in hitting percentage at .397 this season, on the heels of .381 a year ago, tallying 143 kills in 287 attempts this fall.

McGovern has co-quarterbacked the most efficient offense in the nation, as CMS enters the postseason hitting .318 on the year, 50 points higher than anyone else in Division III. She has 559 assists (6.82) per set, and has added 148 digs and 37 service aces. Ellis, meanwhile, is also on pace to break the school record in hitting percentage at .404, placing in the top 10 nationally, and closed out the regular season with 24 kills and one error in the final three matches. 

CMS will begin postseason play when it hosts La Verne in one of two SCIAC Semifinal matches on Thursday night at 7 p.m. A win would enable the Athenas to host the SCIAC Championship on Saturday against either Cal Lutheran or Pomona-Pitzer, when a win would give them their fifth straight conference tournament title.