COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.— Colorado Mesa University setter
Sabrina VanDeList made Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference history and led four Maverick volleyball players named to the First Team All-RMAC squad, announced by the conference on Thursday afternoon. VanDeList is now the first RMAC player to ever earn five First Team All-Conference honors and was named as the conference's setter of the year for the second straight year.
She was joined on the first team by redshirt junior right side
Sierra Hunt, senior outside hitter
Sydney Leffler and sophomore middle hitter
Nicole Martin as the Mavericks tied with MSU Denver for the most players on the first team.
Maverick junior libero
Allison Waller also picked up an Honorable Mention All-RMAC accolade.
VanDeList, who hails from Severance, Colorado, is taking advantage of her fifth season of collegiate eligibility thanks to the NCAA's COVID related blanket waiver and is again leading the RMAC by wide margins in both assists (1,140) and assists per set (11.88) while helping lead the Mavericks to a 23-4 overall record, including their 12-2 RMAC mark which put the Mavs second in the final conference standings.
CMU has also qualified for the RMAC Tournament semifinals for the fifth straight season under her leadership and has helped the team record 105 match wins in her time as a Maverick.
VanDeList, who became the Mavs' all-time career assists and service aces record holder early this season, also ranks second in the RMAC for service aces with 42 and her 0.44 per set average. She has also led the Mavericks to the No. 2 position in the national statistics for kills per set (14.82).
VanDeList has also registered a team-high 11 double-doubles this season and is second on the Mavericks squad behind Waller in digs with 270 (2.81/set).
She will enter the RMAC Tournament semifinals just 44 assists shy of 5,000 for her career.
Her three favorite targets who joined her on the first team all-conference squad have combined for 1,013 kills.
Leffler was named to the First Team All-RMAC squad for the third time and also has a second team honor from her 2022 sophomore season. She leads the RMAC in both kills (4.07) and total points (4.69) per set and has had the best defensive and serving season of her illustrious career, recording 200 digs (2.08/set), 158 blocks (0.40/set) and 24 aces (0.25/set).
The Eaton, Colorado native, who has an even 1,500 career kills to her credit, has been in double figures 25 times this season and tallied nine in the Mavs' other two matches while recording nine double-doubles.
Hunt, who hails from Aurora, Colorado, has earned her second career First Team All-RMAC honor after previously being selected as an outside hitter in 2022. She was also an honorable mention pick as a true freshman in the spring of 2021.
Hunt missed out of the entire 2023 season due to injury but has come back in even stronger form registering a career-high 343 kills (3.57/set) from her new position, the fourth best average in the conference. She has also posted a .312 attack percentage to rank ninth in the conference and sits fourth in the league for total points with 385 ½ (4.02/set), thanks in part to her 59 blocks, the second most on the squad.
Martin, who hails from Colorado Springs, is second in the conference with her .377 attack percentage and his third on the Maverick squad with both 279 kills (2.91/set) and 57 blocks. She has been in double-figures for kills in 17 different matches and has hit at a .500 or above clip nine times this campaign. Martin's all-conference recognition is the first of career.
Waller, who hails from Loveland, Colorado, has been the Mavs' starting libero 26 times this season and has recorded 376 digs (4.09/set) to lead the Mavericks. She has also registered a strong .956 service reception percentage committing just 16 reception errors while leading the Maverick defense, which has held opponents to a .167 attack percentage and 10.38 kills per set, the second fewest in the RMAC. She was named to the First Team All-RMAC squad and as the RMAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.
