Three Garner All-Region Honors

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Three University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball standouts have been named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) all-Southeast Region team, as announced Tuesday morning.

Danielle Mercer, Taylor Stratton and Emily Teelon have all been selected to the first team.

Mercer, the PBC Libero of the Year, established a USC Aiken single-season record with 683 digs. The mark is eighth in PBC single-season history. Mercer, a second-team all-conference selection, was voted the league's Specialist of the Week Sept. 12. The senior posted a career-high 31 digs in the victory over Georgia College and tallied 30 in the four-set win over Eckerd. Mercer, a native of Columbus, Ohio, led the PBC in digs and digs per set (5.69).

Stratton, a senior outside hitter from Chesapeake, Va., is seventh on the school's career kills list with 1,224. Her 404 kills this year are 10^th most in a school history for a single season. This year, Stratton has 13 double-double performances and 15 for her career. In the win over Flagler, she posted 21 kills and 17 digs. Stratton tallied a career-high 23 kills in the win over Mars Hill. She ranked second in the PBC in kills per set (4.00) and third for total kills. Stratton was a first-team all-conference selection, all-tournament team honoree, all-academic team selection and picked up two PBC Player of the Week honors.

Teelon, the PBC Specialist of the Year, led the league in assists per set (11.24) and was third in total assists (1,214). The Aiken, S.C., native, posted 14 double-double performances this year. Teelon became the first player in PBC volleyball history to notch five consecutive weekly league awards. Teelon dished out a season-high 55 assists in the win over Flagler, posted a career-best 24 digs in the victory over Columbus State and narrowly missed out on a pair of triple-double performances on the year. She was also an all-academic team honoree.

In all, players from 11 different schools were represented on the team, including seven of eight region participants in this week's regional – top-seeded USC Aiken (3), second-seeded Wingate (2), third-seeded Flagler (1), fifth-seeded Lincoln Memorial (1), sixth-seeded Queens (NC) (1), seventh-seeded Lander (1) and eighth-seeded Barton (1). Fourth-seeded Armstrong State did not have a selection.

The Pacers host the NCAA Southeast Region Dec. 2-4 and take the court Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m., when they host Barton. Live stats and video will be available at PacerSports.com.  

2016 D2CCA All-Southeast Region Volleyball Team

First Team
Pos     Name                         School                        Yr        Hometown
OH/RS #Abby Saehler          Wingate                       Sr.        Iowa City, Iowa
OH       Meredith Jones         Queens (NC)               Sr.        Blythewood, S.C.
OH       Taylor Stratton        USC Aiken                 Sr.        Chesapeake, Va.
MH       ^ Kristy Bohan          Montevallo                  Jr.        Huntsville, Ala.
MH       # Sara Davis             Flagler                        Jr.         Akron, Ohio
Lib        Danielle Mercer      USC Aiken                 Sr.        Columbus, Ohio
S          Emily Teelon            USC Aiken                 Jr.        Aiken, S.C.
 
Second Team
Pos     Name                        School                        Yr        Hometown
OH       Hayley Marshburn    Barton                         So.       Henderson, N.C.
OH/RS Halle Dotson            Lander                         Sr.        Titusville, Fla.
OH/RS Samantha Cash       Lincoln Memorial         So.       New Carlisle, Ohio
MH       Rachel Burts           Anderson (SC)             Sr.        Anderson, S.C.
MH      Caroline Boone        Francis Marion             Sr.        Roanoke, Va.
Lib       #Melissa Mazur        Tusculum                    So.       Chicago, Ill.
            Treslyn Ortiz             Wingate                      Fr.         Texas City, Texas
S          Abby Cash               Lincoln Memorial        Sr.        New Carlisle, Ohio
 
Southeast Region Player of the Year
Kristy Bohan, Montevallo (MH, Jr., Huntsville, Ala.)
 
# - 2015 D2CCA All-Southeast Region First Team honoree
^ - 2015 D2CCA All-Southeast Region Second Team honoree