Freshman Emily Bible Named AVCA All-American, All-State, WSC Player of the Year, as Nine Cougars Earn All-Conference Honors

The College of the Canyons women's volleyball team has won a Western State Conference (WSC), South Championship in each of the last three seasons, and subsequently had those efforts rewarded with three Player of the Year Awards, three Coach of the Year awards and, most recently, an All-American honoree.

COC freshman outside hitter Emily Bible has been named a 2015 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) First Team All-American after a season in which she helped lead the Cougars to a 22-2 regular season record while ranking first on the team in kills (285), kills per set (3.56), total attacks (590), points (325.5) and points per set (4.39).

Bible, who posted a .339 hitting percentage through 24 matches, also ranked second on the team in digs (272) and digs per set (3.67) while appearing in 74 of 82 regular season sets. Her 32 aces ranked fourth on the team.

Those numbers also placed Bible high in the WSC statistical rankings. As a result, Bible has been named the WSC Player of the Year, bringing the award back to COC for a third straight season.

Former COC outside hitter, and West Ranch High School product, Serena LeDuff won WSC Player of the Year honors in 2013 and 2014.

Bible becomes the first All-American honoree, and the fifth WSC Player of the Year honoree, in COC head coach Lisa Hooper's 19 years at the helm.

Bible has also been named a member of the 2015 CCCAA All-State team.

Meanwhile, Hooper earns her third straight WSC Coach of the Year Award — and fifth overall — after a fantastic regular season in which the Cougars extended their conference match win streak to 30 straight.

Also earning postseason honors was COC sophomore setter Katie Rutecki who has been named a member of the 2015 CCCAA All-Southern California Regional Team and an All-WSC First Team selection. 

Rutecki has played a major role in COC's success the last two seasons. In 2015 she registered a team-high 725 assists in 24 regular season matches, at a rate of 10.98 per set, to also lead the conference in both categories. Those totals also ranked second in the state. Her 48 aces were tops at COC.

Joining Rutecki on the All-WSC First Team are sophomores Brooke Garelick and Chelsea Corn.

Garelick ranked second on the team in kills (204) and aces (36) and third in digs (232), while playing from the outside hitter position.

As the team's libero, Corn led the Cougars in digs (304) and provided a steady scoring presence with her 35 aces, which were third best on the squad.

Corn and Garelick each appeared in a team-high 78 sets, providing sound leadership throughout the course of the season.

Sophomore opposite hitter Alize Bricot, freshman middle blocker Alexa Hesseldenz and sophomore Erica Magee were all named All-WSC Second Team.

Bricot tallied 165 kills in 20 matches for the Cougars, averaging 2.84 per set to rank third in both categories.

Hesseldenz provided an energetic middle presence for Canyons all season, adding 106 kills and 41 blocks along the way. 

Magee posted a .376 hitting percentage, while totaling 125 kills, good for fourth best on the team. She also added 28 blocks.

Sophomores Camari McWright and Alexis Serafin were each named All-WSC Honorable Mention.

McWright ranked sixth on the team with 69 kills, and Serafin finished the regular season with 115 digs and 24 aces.

No. 4 Canyons is currently in the midst of a postseason run, and will next turn its attention to No. 1 Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) in its third round CCCAA SoCal Regional Playoff match, set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

College of the Canyons will also serve as host of the 2015 CCCAA Women's Volleyball State Championships being held Dec. 5-6 at the Valencia campus.