SIOUX FALLS – Turning the page to the spring season, University of Sioux Falls Volleyball hosted their team banquet this past Saturday, Feb. 10. Leading the ceremony was head coach Joel McCartney, who finished seventh season this past fall, and he was joined by associate head coach Andrea McCartney and graduate assistant coach Jordan Calef as they wrapped up the 2017 season by handing out awards and recognizing the Cougars' individual and team accomplishments.
 
McCartney, who is entering his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach, expressed his gratitude for the USF support of his program, including athletic trainer Katie Fujimoto and strength and conditioning coordinator Zach Mathers.
 
Following the recognition of the numerous Division II-era individual match, season and career records the Cougars broke, McCartney recognized the team for its continued academic success. In all seven years under McCartney, the USF Volleyball team has earned the AVCA Academic Team Award, which honors the teams who own a combined team grade point average of 3.30 or higher. Eight different Cougars were also recognized as NSIC All-Academic honorees, who must maintain a 3.25 GPA while earning a varsity letter.
 
The Cougars also achieved some of their team goals, earning both a regional ranking and receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches' Poll for seven consecutive weeks. The 2017 season was also the first time that the Cougars earned player of the week honors on three occasions as senior Janelle Lam earned NSIC defensive player of the week twice after her MVP performance in the Country Inns & Suites Invitational and junior Brai Barfnecht was named NSIC offensive player of the week after helping the Cougars to the upset victory over rival Augustana.
 
McCartney and his staff also recognized juniors Makenna Rockeman and Lexi Scott for earning All-NSIC second team honors for the second consecutive season. Rockeman and Lam were also honored for passing career milestones. Rockeman became the second Cougar to reach 1,000 career kills in USF's Division II era and Lam's big final weekend pushed her over the 1,000 career digs threshold.
 
Following Coach Mathers' strength and fitness award, McCartney handed out the individual honors to his team. With a team-high 25 aces, Rockeman earned the Best Server award. Lam's team-high 63-percet perfect pass rating earned her the Best Passer award. Megan Hamstad's 656 assists and team hitting percentage of .281 warranted the Best Setter award. Barfnecht posted a program best .299 hitting percentage for opposite attackers, which earned her Best Attacker honors, and her 0.77 blocks per set as an opposite also earned her Best Blocker honors. Abby Feyereisen's improvement as a middle blocker warranted the Most Improved award.
 
In addition to collecting Best Digger award after a team-high 426 digs during the season, Lam's proficiency in numerous areas and her ability to lead the team on and off the court as the captain warranted the Most Valuable Player award for the 2017 season.