Edison State Community College Athletics is the 2021-22 OCCAC All-Sports Award recipient. This marks the Chargers’ second such accolade in the last three seasons after not competing due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21.
Spring semesters across the conference are officially wrapped up, and a plethora of OCCAC student-athletes have earned Academic All-Conference distinction.
Owens Community College (29-7) became the first NJCAA Division III volleyball team to capture three consecutive national championships with a thrilling 23-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 15-12 win over No. 1 Rock Valley (34-8).
After running through the OCCAC gauntlet with an unblemished 12-0 mark, Terra State Volleyball also corralled the conference’s Coach of the Year (Stephanie Champine) and Player of the Year (Olivia Materni) accolades.
Brianna Slusher shared this season’s first OCCAC Volleyball Player of the Week award back on August 30, and owns sole possession of the laurel on October 25 as the final honoree of 2021. She pushed the Chargers to three wins in three outings last week.
For the third time in eight weeks, Maddie White of Owens Volleyball has been voted as the OCCAC Player of the Week (Oct. 11-17). She guided the Express to five victories last week, improving to 23-6 overall and 9-1 in league play.
A familiar name has returned as the OCCAC Player of the Week. Vanecia Billings picked up her fourth career weekly league award overall and second on the volleyball court. The two-time basketball player of the week is now also a two-timer for volleyball.
Lindsey Brayton did it all for Clark State last week, racking up 39 kills, 26 digs, seven blocks (four solo) and eight service aces in 10 sets. The all-around effort earned her OCCAC Player of the Week recognition.
Jakyla Jackson and the Terra State volleyball program (21-2, 5-0 OCCAC) maintained their spot atop the OCCAC standings for another week after collecting a pair of league wins last week. Jackson’s offensive outburst in those road victories over Clark State and Lakeland earned her a second OCCAC Player of the Week honor.
Maddie White earned her second OCCAC Player of the Week award after leading the second-ranked Express (14-5, 5-1 OCCAC) to three conference wins last week. The freshman outside hitter was responsible for 3.75 points and 2.79 digs per set during a four-match stretch.
Jakyla Jackson was a relentless force during Terra State's 3-0 week, responsible for 4.28 points per set. She attacked at a .643 clip after committing just three errors on 42 attempts resulting in 30 kills. Jackson denied her opponents over and over as well, good for 1.89 blocks per set as the Titans swept all three foes in straight sets.
Olivia Materni and the Terra State Community College volleyball program have rattled off 20 straight set victories, including an 18-0 run last week to improve their overall match record to 15-2. Materni led the latest charge and earned OCCAC Player of the Week honors for her efforts.
Brianna Slusher (Edison State) and Maddie White (Owens) are co-honorees for the first OCCAC Volleyball Player of the Week laurel for the 2021 season. Both student-athletes contributed heavily on offense and defense.