KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The 2022 NAIA Women's Volleyball All-Americans, Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, Attacker of the Year, Setter of the Year and Defender of the Year have been announced.
For the first time in Siena Heights Women's Volleyball program history, the Saints have had a student-athlete honored and an NAIA All-American. Junior setter, Aubrey Bates was selected as an Honorable Mention All-American, one of only 115 students recognized nationally for their work on the court this season.
Bates had a stellar season for the Saints, earning 1st Team All-WHAC accolades to go along with her four WHAC Setter of the Week Awards.
On the season, Bates led the Saints with 1,174 assists, that mark was good for the 13th highest total in the NAIA. Her 10.12 assists per set were also the 13th highest mark in the NAIA.
Bates led the Saints in service aces with 53, good for the 28th highest mark in the NAIA. She played in all 32 matches, notching 109 kills (6th highest for the Saints), ended with a 0.206 hitting percentage (3rd best for the Saints), 319 digs (3rd highest for the Saints) and her three solo blocks, 51 assisted blocks and 54 total blocks were also the 3rd highest in each category for the Saints this year.
Bates has already been writing her name in to the SHU record books, she has added to those marks this year. On the season, her 1,174 assists were the fourth best in school history while her 53 aces were the 5th best total in school history.
For her career, Bates now sits in 2nd place in school history with 2,801 assists and in 4th place in SHU history with 138 aces. She has been named 1st Team All-WHAC twice, 2nd Team All-WHAC once, WHAC Setter of the Week seven times, and WHAC Setter of the Year throughout her career.
Bates helped lead the Saints to a historical season within the program. The Saints finished 24-8 on the season, the second best win total, second best winning percentage, and second lowest loss total in school history. They also had their best ever WHAC season in school history, going 18-2 in WHAC play, and finishing in second place, the highest finish for any volleyball team in school history. The Saints came up one win short of an automatic qualification to the NAIA National Tournament as well.
Coach Kim Berrington had this to say, "I am thrilled for Aubrey. She is very deserving of this recognition. Her passion and effort on the court is unmatched. She leads by example and is committed to working on her game year-round. She's one of those athletes that you'd like to have in your gym for many years!!!!!"
For the complete NAIA release, CLICK HERE
