RAPID CITY, S.D.— Colorado Mesa University volleyball standouts Savannah Spitzer and Kerstin Layman were both named to the D2CCA All-South Central Region teams, it was announced Thursday morning.
 
Spitzer was a first team selection at the middle blocker position while Layman earned her second all-region honor in as many years as the second team libero.
 
The 7-member units were selected by position via nominations and a vote of sports information directors from the region, made up of the Lone Star and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conferences.  All but one of the 14 total selections are from the eight teams, who begin the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championship Tournament this afternoon.
 
Spitzer, a 5-foot-11 junior from Aurora, Colorado, leads the region and ranks fifth in the nation for hitting percentage (.411).  She was also named to the All-RMAC squad for the third overall time, earning second team plaudits in 2022, and was selected to the RMAC All-Tournament Team last week.
 
She has recorded 215 kills (2.39/set) and 49 blocks (0.54/set) this season, the best marks of her career and has had a hitting percentage of .600 or higher in eight different matches this season.  She is on pace to have the second best single-season hitting percentage in school history, behind only the RMAC record-holder and 2018 D2CCA and AVCA South Central Region Player of the Year Kasie Gilfert.
 
As a first team all-region honoree, she will move on to the national ballot for potential all-America honors, which will be announced on Nov. 30.
 
Layman, a redshirt senior from Littleton, Colorado, was named as the RMAC's Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and picked up her fourth total All-RMAC honor, a first team selection this season.  She ranks second in the RMAC and fifth in the region for digs per set (5.05), her best average of her career and has made just 11 reception errors, while recording a .966 reception percentage.
 
Names to the First Team D2CCA All-Region squad last year, Layman has tallied 470 digs this year and 1,573 in her career to rank fifth in CMU history.  She has had eight 20-plud dig efforts this season and is a leading part of the CMU defense, which has held opponents to a .162 hitting percentage, third lowest in the RMAC.
 
The Mavericks are the fifth seed for this week's regional tournament in Denver and will play No. 4 seed in the quarterfinal round on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.  The Mavs currently sport a 21-6 overall record and ranked 18^th in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

2022 Women's Volleyball South Central Region Player of the Year: Rylee Hladky (Jr., OH, MSU Denver)
 
2022 Women's Volleyball All-South Central Region First Team
 

Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
L/DS	Nicole Murff	Texas A&M-Kingsville	Jr.	San Antonio, Texas
MB	Taytum Slow	West Texas A&M	Fr.	Hereford, Texas
MB	Savannah Spitzer	Colorado Mesa	Jr.	Aurora, Colo.
OH	Rylee Hladky	MSU Denver	Jr.	Gillette, Wyo.
OH	Torrey Miller	West Texas A&M	Jr.	Brownwood, Texas
OH	Mikayla Ware	UT Tyler	Sr.	San Antonio, Texas
S	Drew Stokes	Colorado School of Mines	Sr.	Murphysboro, Ill.

 
2022 Women's Volleyball All-South Central Region Second Team
 

Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
L/DS	Kerstin Layman	Colorado Mesa	Sr.	Littleton, Colo.
MB	Mikayla McClinton	MSU Denver	Jr.	Raytown, Mo.
MB	Amelia Davis	Regis	So.	Denver, Colo.
OH	AJ Koele	Dallas Baptist	Sr.	The Woodlands, Texas
OH	Rose Stuewe	Colorado School of Mines	Sr.	Fredericksburg, Texas
OH	Kelsey Gordon	MSU Denver	Sr.	Emporia, Kan.
S	Lauryn Burt	Dallas Baptist	Sr.	Bakersfield, Kan.