Central Arkansas senior Marissa Collins was named the 2013 Southland Conference Volleyball Player and Setter of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, the league announced Wednesday in conjunction with the release of the all-conference teams.
Collins, a Pearland, Texas, native, is the first Sugar Bear to claim player of the year honors since Chloe Smith, who won three consecutive awards from 2008 to 2010. Collins, a four-time all-conference representative, also becomes the first player in Southland history to win both player and setter of the year awards in the same season. Collins led the league in assists per set (12.07) and is fourth in the nation while the Sugar Bears led the conference with 13.89 assists per set. Collins, the 2010 freshman of the year, has won the setter of the year award three times in four years. The senior led UCA to a perfect 18-0 record league record to claim the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed in this week’s conference tournament.
Along with Collins, Central Arkansas coach, David McFatrich was named coach of the year. McFatrich, who is in his third year at UCA, earns his first coach of the year honor. The Sugar Bears started the season with a 3-1 victory against No. 20 ranked Kansas, picking up the first win against a ranked opponent in school history. McFatrich led Central Arkansas to its second consecutive regular-season title. He currently has the Sugar Bears on a 19-match winning streak with a 26-3 record overall, which includes 16 sweeps.
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