Volleyball | April 23, 2021

AUGUSTA, Ga. – University of South Carolina standouts Sydney Bresee, Caroline Foster, Kari Mercer and Alie Smith have been named to the PBC all-conference team, as announced by the league office.

Smith earned first team honors while Bresee, Foster and Mercer picked up second-team accolades.

Bresee, a freshman middle blocker from Fuquay-Varina, N.C., averaged 2.17 kills per frame while hitting .261. She was also in on 27 total blocks. Bresee registered double-digit kill performances five times on the season. She posted a career-best 13 kills while hitting .600 in her collegiate debut at Flagler. Bresee notched a career-high five blocks in the victory over Georgia College.

Foster, a 5-9 setter from Blue Springs, Mo., led the PBC with 10.60 assists per set. She also accounted for 2.60 digs per frame and had 15 aces on the year. Foster earned PBC Specialist of the Week honors on March 17. The junior dished out a career-high 48 in the win over Lander. She distributed at least 40 assists five times while registering at least 30 assists five other times. Foster accounted for seven double-double efforts on the season.

Mercer, a 5-6 sophomore from Hilliard, Ohio, earned PBC Specialist of the Week honors on March 31 and Apr. 7. The PBC Libero of the Year led the league and was in the top 10 nationally with 6.26 digs per set. The 6.26 digs per frame was the fourth-highest effort in school history. She notched double-digit dig performances in all 14 matches, including a career-high 39 in the win at Lander. That marked the seventh most in school history. It also accounted for the fifth-most digs in a five-set match in the school's record book.

Smith, a native of St. Johns, Fla., was a three-time PBC Player of the Week selection. The PBC Player of the Year led the league in kills with 262, kills per set with 5.35 points with 291.5 and points per set with 5.95. Smith notched double figure kill performances in 12 of the 14 matches. She posted a career-high 31 in the win at Francis Marion while hitting .302. Three days later, Smith hammered home 30 in the win at UNC Pembroke while hitting .308. On five occasions, she had at least 20 kills. Smith becomes just the seventh student-athlete in PBC history to earn all-conference honors four times - and the third in USC Aiken history (Kim Merrill and Roxanna Rivera). 


First Team
Chloe Allen, Augusta
Logan Garcia, Flagler
Rebekah Machovec, Flagler
Kylie Martin, Augusta
Kennedy Muff, Flagler
Alie Smith, USC Aiken
Brianna Warren, UNC Pembroke
 
Second Team
Christina Aguayo, Lander
Libby Bochniak, Georgia College
Emma Boughner, Georgia College
Sydney Bresee, USC Aiken
Caroline Foster, USC Aiken
Kari Mercer, USC Aiken
Shannon Skryd, UNC Pembroke
Iyanla Thigpen, Francis Marion
 
Elite 16 Award presented by EAB
Elly Hicks, UNC Pembroke
 
Freshman of the Year
Christina Aguayo, Lander
 
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year
Kari Mercer, USC Aiken
 
Setter of the Year
Kennedy Muff, Flagler
 
Player of the Year
Alie Smith, USC Aiken
 
Coach of the Year
Ellen McGill, UNC Pembroke