The volleyball program at Shawnee State University put together strong representation from arguably its best offensive and defensive players on the unit, as sophomore outside hitter Macie Rhoads was one of 14 players named as First-Team All-MSC while senior defensive specialist Stacia Martin was honored as a member of the Mid-South Conference's Champions of Character Team at Wednesday evening's Mid-South Conference banquet in Bowling Green, Ky.

Rhoads, a sophomore outside hitter from Circleville, Ohio, showed massive improvements through the 2019 season as the second-year player collected 453 kills on a .232 attack percentage as opposed to 306 kills on a .215 attack percentage in her freshman season. Rhoads also amassed 355 digs as the sophomore not only led Shawnee State in kills, but finished second in digs for the unit. Rhoads is also tied for the third best serving percentage on the unit, as the underclassman is serving at a 95.2 percent clip.

For the season, Rhoads' 453 kills on the year, which sits 14th in the NAIA, is tops in the entire conference. She has a three-kill lead on Lindsey Wilson's Kasia Niderla for top honors in kills, and has also edged Pikeville's Noelani Simpson (418 kills), Thomas More's Emily Mohs (370 kills), and Cumberland, Tenn.'s Masa Nalovic (364 kills) in that category. All five players were First-Team All-Mid South Conference recipients.

Martin, who was the Mid-South Conference's Champions of Character honoree for Shawnee State, sits 13th in digs with 651 to her credit. The senior was also one of eight players, including Rhoads, Maddie Payne, Alexis Palazzo, Nashail Shelby, Isabella Gill, Carson Isaac, and Miranda Hickey, to earn All-Academic Mid-South Conference accolades. The senior averaged a 3.73 grade-point-average while majoring in Health Science and minoring in Biology, and volunteered her time to help coach local travel volleyball players in the area.

With her First-Team All-MSC accolades, Rhoads became the first player since Paige Zelich in 2013 to obtain conference honors of the First-Team All-MSC variety. Her accolades make Rhoads the 11th player in the history of the Shawnee State volleyball program to obtain such honors. The eight Academic All-MSC recipients, as mentioned previously, is tied for the most in a single-season in Shawnee State history -- matching the 2016 output.

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