Carrasco named to big school volleyball team

Seniority reigned supreme in Southeast Conference volleyball this season, especially for the three Golden Triangle big schools.

The season was stacked with star seniors, who all led their respective teams. Fairfield, of course, had the most seniors in their lineup, so it was no surprise to see them compete for the conference crown once again.

This year's All-GTNS big school volleyball team is full of senior stars. In fact, there are no juniors or underclassmen who made the team. Below are the very best from the Golden Triangle area in big school volleyball, all of which just happen to be from the Class of 2019.

Coach: Diana Drish, Fairfield: Drish is 76-27 overall in three seasons as the Trojans skipper, including a 19-5 mark in the Southeast Conference regular season, with her first title coming this year after taking over for Hall of Fame coach Nancy Diers in 2016.

Drish has improved her team's winning percentage each season as well, from .636 in year one to .727 in her second campaign before posting an awesome .838 mark this year with a 31-6 record overall and a 7-1 mark in the SEC that resulted in a co-championship. 18 players have received all-SEC recognition under Drish for their play, including eight first-team selections with an additional 36 student-athletes being recognized as all-conference academic honorees. This is the third all-GTNS selection for Coach Drish.

Captain: Kara Jeffrey, senior, Fairfield: Jeffrey was a second-team all-SEC selection as a sophomore and a first-team choice the past two seasons, including receiving player of the year honors in 2017.

Jeffrey had 254 kills in 99 sets played in 2018 with a 94-percent serve efficiency and 46 aces. The senior also had 325 assists, 217 digs and 17 blocks. This is the third all-GTNS volleyball selection for Jeffrey who also captained the team last year.

Libero: Danae Drish, senior Fairfield: Drish was an all-SEC honorable mention as a freshman, a second-team selection as a sophomore and finished her varsity career with two first-team seasons that included a stellar senior campaign that left her as a coin-flip for captain. Drish had a 95-percent serve efficiency in over 450 attempts with 48 aces and also added 50 assists. As the team Libero for both the Trojans and the all-GTNS team, Drish recorded 569 digs which was second in Class 4A. This is the second all-GTNS selection for Drish who will sign her letter of intent to play volleyball in Nebraska this afternoon.

Hitter: Alison Godwin, senior, Fairfield: Godwin followed up a second-team all-SEC season as a sophomore with back to back first team campaigns in 2017-18. The senior hitter led the Trojans and the conference with 337 kills, a .423 kill efficiency and 3.40 kills per set. Godwin had an .860 serve efficiency with 31 aces, 51 digs and 65 blocks to round out her senior stat line. This is the third all-GTNS volleyball selection for Godwin.

Defensive Specialist: Jillian Dunlap, senior, Fairfield: Dunlap was a second-team all-conference selection this season after posting a .947 serve efficiency with 17 aces. She was also second on the Trojans with 243 digs which was fifth among all SEC players. This is the first all-GTNS selection for Dunlap who was selected as a defensive specialist.

Defensive Specialist: Lily Hoskins, senior, Fairfield: Hoskins was a second-team all-SEC selection thanks to her .941 serve efficiency with 15 aces paired with a team-high 363 assists that was second most in the conference. This is the first all-GTNS selection for Hoskins who was selected as a defensive specialist.

Hitter: Sadie Carrasco, senior, Mt. Pleasant: The Panther volleyball team didn't have a great year as a team, but they were strong down the middle thanks to senior hitter Sadie Carrasco.

Despite missing a handful of games with an injury, Carrasco led the team with 104 kills. She was also second on the team with 46 blocks, and finished the year with a .877 serving efficiency, with 17 aces.

Hitter: Isabel Bailey, senior, Washington: Bailey's prowess at the net and in the back row helped the Demons achieve a double-digit win total for the first time since 2012. Bailey made First Team All-Southeast Conference where she was sixth in kills per set at 1.83. She led the Demons in kills at 157. She was third on the Demons in digs with 148. She was third on the Demons in blocks with 22, with 10 solo stops. She successfully served 156 of 169 attempts for a .923 efficiency.

The 2018 All-GTNS big school volleyball team was selected by Justin Webster of the Fairfield Ledger, Andy Krutsinger of the Mt. Pleasant News and Doug Brenneman of the Washington Evening Journal.