No. 25 UMSL Volleyball Places Four on All-GLVC Teams

INDIANAPOLIS, IND.  - Junior middle hitter Weslie Gaff of the No. 25 ranked University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team has been named an All-Great Lakes Valley Conference First Team selection, while senior libero Carolyn Holstein and junior right side hitter Erin Higgins were selected to the league's second team. Additionally, junior right side hitter Shelby Crawford was tabbed to the third team, as announced tonight by the league office.

The group has helped UMSL to a current 19-7 record and a 10-4 tie for third place finish in the GLVC. The Tritons earned a bid to their fifth straight and 12th overall GLVC Tournament, being held this weekend in Romeoville, Ill. UMSL, the league's No. 5 seed, begins quarterfinal round action Friday against No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky in a 5 p.m. match.

Gaff earns first team all-GLVC honors for the third straight year. She is the Tritons' leader in kills (2.84 kps), blocks (0.86 bps) and hitting percentage (.360). Nationally in all of NCAA Division II, Gaff ranks 31st in hitting percentage, while her .360 attack percentage also stands as the sixth best single season figure in program history. Her career hitting mark of .327 is second all-time and she also ranks among the career leaders in total blocks (7th - 293), block assists (8th - 209) and solo blocks (4th - 84).

In 13 GLVC matches, Gaff hit at a .369 clip, which ranked third, and averaged 2.72 kills and 0.98 blocks per set. Gaff was named the GLVC Player of the Week Oct. 11.

Holstein is a repeat to the league's second team, having earned the honor last year. The team leader in digs (5.02 dps) and service aces (29), she led the GLVC in digs all season and ranks 38th nationally. Her 432 digs this season is the 10th best single season total and she ranks second all-time with 1,580 career digs. She is also 7th all-time in career service aces (118).

In 14 GLVC matches, Holstein averaged a league-best 5.00 digs per set and was 10th with 16 service aces.

Higgins earns all-GLVC honors for the second time in her career after being a first team pick last season. She is fourth on the team in kills (2.37 kpg) and third in blocks (0.65 bps), while hitting at a .246 clip.

In 12 GLVC matches, Higgins averaged 2.58 kills per set, while hitting at a league 10th-best .328 clip and averaged 0.65 blocks per set.

Crawford earns all-GLVC honors for the first time in her career after a breakout season on the right side for the Tritons. After averaging 1.15 kills per set in her first season a year ago, she is second on the team in that category  this season, averaging 2.57 kills per set. Additionally, she's hitting at a .314 clip and ranks sixth all-time with a career hitting percentage of .278.

In 14 GLVC contests, Crawford owned a team-best 3.09 kills per set, hitting .355, the fifth-best figure, and adding 0.42 blocks per set.