LA VERNE, CA — Mya Ray has been named the SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year,
Jeff Hendershot and staff earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors, and three Leopards picked up First Team All-SCIAC honors, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced Thursday morning.
Ray earns SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year accolades after posting another historic season. The senior led the conference in kills for a fourth consecutive season (5.00 per set) as well as hitting percentage (.345) in conference matches. Ray was previously named SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year in 2023. She also picked up her fourth First Team All-SCIAC award to become the first player in La Verne history to earn four first-team honors. Her regular-season average of 5.70 points per set ranks second in the country, and 4.86 kills per set ranks third. Her 442 kills lead the SCIAC and place her 11th nationally. Ray set the all-time La Verne kills record at 1,815 kills and counting.
Zacky Coaston was tabbed First Team All-SCIAC for back-to-back seasons. Coaston leads the SCIAC with 1.37 blocks per set and ranks second with 119 total blocks. She ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per set and seventh in total blocks. The junior needs just 12 blocks to break the Leopards' record.
Lauren Gott was awarded First Team All-SCIAC accolades for the second time in her career. She ranks in the top-10 in the conference in kills (254), kills per set (2.82), points (295.5), and points per set (295.5). She ranks second on the La Verne squad in all four categories.
Hendershot picked up SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year honors for the second time in his career. Hendershot, Randi Taylor-Toomay, Mario Meza, Jack Coberly, and Ayana Mier helped lead the Leopards to their best start in program history and first SCIAC Regular Season Championship since 2008. The Leopards have spent nine weeks ranked in the top three in the AVCA/TARAFLEX Division III Volleyball Poll.
The Leopards, ranked No. 2 in the nation, enter the SCIAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed. La Verne and No. 5 seed Redlands square off tonight inside The Tents at 7 p.m.
