YORK, Pa. - Christopher Newport junior hitter Briana Sutton was selected the CAC Player of the Year for the second time in her career, and Captains coach Lindsay Birch was picked by her peers as the Coach of the Year for the third-straight season, to highlight the 2015 All-CAC Volleyball team. Sutton, the 2013 CAC Co-Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, picked up her third all-conference award and was one of three Captains named to the 15-player all-star squad. She is the first CNU player, and the sixth player in conference history, to be picked by the conference coaches as the Player of the Year at least twice.
She was joined on the 2015 All-CAC top squad by classmate and middle blocker Hannah Miller and senior setter Rachel Conway. All three CNU players are appearing on the conference post-season team for the third time in their careers - second time as first-team all-stars - and led the Captains to their third-straight CAC regular-season and post-season title. CNU will represent the CAC in the NCAA Championship Tournament for the third-straight season. Birch, in her 14th year on the Christopher Newport bench, has guided her team to a 32-0 overall record since the Captains joined the CAC prior to the 2013 season - 26-0 in regular-season matches and 6-0 in the playoffs. She is the fourth volleyball coach in CAC history to be named Coach of the Year at least three times and the second to do it in consecutive seasons.
Salisbury, Mary Washington and St. Mary's also secured three berths on the 2015 All-CAC squad while Marymount and Frostburg State, which all qualified for the 2015 CAC Championship Tournament, each placed two players on the all-conference team.
Leading the third-place Mary Washington contingent on the All-CAC first team is junior setter Emma Olson and sophomore hitter Rachel Hendricks. Olson was a two-time second-team All-CAC choice prior to this year while Hendricks makes her inaugural appearance on the All-CAC team. Senior hitter Emma Murphy also earned second-team recognition for the second time in her career. Freshman hitter Leslie Walters added to the Mary Washington trophy case by winning the CAC Rookie of the Year by the conference coaches. Walters becomes the second-straight Eagle (with 2014 winner Dani Fiori), and fifth in the last eight years, to be picked as the top Rookie in the CAC. The Eagles were also picked to compete in the 2015 NCAA Championship Tournament.
Salisbury junior hitter Katie Stouffer gained her third-straight first-team all-conference award and was joined on the post-season team by second-team honorees Jordan Lawson and Rachel Pierson. Lawson, a middle hitter, and Pierson, the Sea Gulls' setter, are both first-time All-CAC honorees. SU placed second in the regular season and advanced to the CAC championship match for the fifth-straight year.
St. Mary's also earned one first-team all-star choice and a pair of second-team nods. Senior middle blocker Mandy Goodspeed completed her career with a four-year sweep of first-team all-star awards in addition to the 2012 Rookie of the Year award. SMC, which finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the regular season, also placed sisters Alli Graf (outside hitter) and Mimi Graf (setter) on the second team all-star squad for the first time in their careers. Frostburg State sophomore RS
Naya Cheatem completed the seven-member first-team All-CAC squad this season. Classmate and defensive specialist Lindsey Scepura was picked by the coaches as a second-team all-star, marking the first time either player was named to the conference post-season team. Marymount, which finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in the regular season with SMC and FSU, picked up a pair of second-team All-CAC awards for senior middle hitter Morgan McAlpin and junior hitter Emileigh Rettig. McAlpin completes her career with three All-CAC honors, including a pair of first-team awards, while Rettig is making her second-straight appearance on the All-CAC second team.