Liberty fifth-year Head Coach Trevor Johnson was named ASUN Volleyball Coach of the Year, while junior Delaney Dilfer was voted ASUN Setter of the Year. Additionally, the Lady Flames placed four players on the ASUN All-Conference Team, as announced today by the league office.

Dilfer was joined by junior middle blocker Lydia Burts on the ASUN All-Conference first team. Meanwhile, junior outside hitter Kamryn Bacus was voted to the second team, while sophomore middle blocker Madison Blane earned third team all-conference honors.

The postseason ASUN honors were nominated and voted on by the conference’s 14 head coaches.

Liberty has tied a program record with four all-conference players, as the Lady Flames placed four players on the Big South All-Conference team in 2009, 2010, 2014 and 2016.

Johnson is the first ASUN Coach of the Year in program history, and Dilfer is the first Liberty player to be named ASUN Setter of the Year. Since ASUN Setter of the Year was first awarded in 2014, Dilfer is the first player in conference history to be named ASUN Freshman of the Year (Spring 2021) and ASUN Setter of the Year during her career.

Burts and Dilfer both receive their second career all-conference awards, as they were both voted to the ASUN All-Conference second team as freshmen following the 2021 Spring season. Bacus and Blane earn ASUN All-Conference honors for the first time in their respective careers.

Bacus and Dilfer both made the 2021 Spring ASUN All-Freshman Team while playing for Lipscomb, while Burts was part of that team representing Liberty.

Johnson guided the Lady Flames to their first ASUN regular-season title, as Liberty went 14-2 in conference play to tie a program single-season record for conference wins. The Lady Flames were voted to finish fifth in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll, but Liberty ended the regular season on a 10-match winning streak to claim the No. 1 seed for the 2022 ASUN Volleyball Championship. Liberty, at 21-7, has posted its first 20-win season since going 21-12 during the 2019 campaign. The Lady Flames currently rank in the top 25 nationally in total blocks and opponents’ hitting percentage.

Dilfer, a native of Austin, Texas, leads the ASUN in assists (1,180), assists per set (11.13) and total service aces (45), while ranking second in the conference in aces per set. She has revolutionized Liberty’s offense during her first year as a Lady Flame, as Liberty is hitting .250 as a team after hitting just .173 last year. Dilfer ranks fifth nationally in total assists and 14th in assists per set. Also, Dilfer has totaled 15 double-doubles, the most by a Lady Flame in 12 years. Dilfer has distributed for an offense that has hit .300 or better 11 times this season. The junior has posted 17 40-assist matches and seven 50-assist contests.

Hailing from Anderson, S.C., Burts is a major force at the net again this season, ranking second in the ASUN in hitting percentage both overall (.365) and in conference play (.364) and ranking second in blocks per set overall (1.23) and third in conference play (1.12). She is tied with Trinity Watts for the team lead with 18 double-digit kill matches, with 12 of those coming in conference play. Burts scored 10 or more kills in 10 straight matches, the longest double-digit kill streak by a Liberty middle blocker since 2004. She scored a career-high 19 kills at a .621 pace at Bellarmine on Oct. 7 and posted a season-best nine blocks at UC San Diego.

A native of Edmond, Okla., Bacus has provided a tremendous boost to Liberty’s offense in her first year after transferring from Lipscomb. She is ranked seventh in the ASUN in kills per set both overall (3.26) and in conference play (3.70). She has been especially effective during Liberty’s current 10-match winning streak, averaging 4.22 kills per set while hitting at a .291 clip. She has posted 17 double-digit kill matches, including one 20-kill contest. Bacus has scored 15 or more kills nine times this season, the most 15-kill matches by a Lady Flame since 2019. Bacus has been a threat at the service line as well, ranking 10th in the ASUN with 0.35 aces per set.

Montgomery, Texas native Blane has made a big breakthrough as a sophomore, currently leading the ASUN in blocks per set both overall (1.28) and in conference play (1.43). She has also been very efficient on the attack, leading the ASUN with a .372 hitting percentage in conference matches while ranking sixth with a .327 hitting percentage overall. Blane has turned in five double-digit kill matches, the first five 10-kill matches of her career, all coming in a row in ASUN play. She has posted five or more blocks in a match eight times this season, with a career-high and Liberty Arena-record 12 blocks in a four-set match against Austin Peay.

Top-seeded Liberty takes on No. 8 seed Stetson on Thursday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time in Nashville, Tenn., in a quarterfinal match at the 2022 ASUN Volleyball Championship.

2022 ASUN Conference Volleyball Award Winners
First Team All-Conference
*Lily Felts – OH, Sr., FGCU
Chelsey Lockey% – S, Sr., FGCU
Erin Shomaker^ – OH, Jr., FGCU
Lena Kindermann# – OH, Sr., Jacksonville State
Lydia Burts# – MB, Jr., Liberty
Delaney Dilfer# – S, Jr., Liberty
Rocio Moro^ – Libero, Jr., North Florida
* – Denotes unanimous selection

Second Team All-Conference
Dana Axner$ – Libero, Sr., FGCU
Haley Hart – MB, Sr., Jacksonville
Katie Montgomery# – MB, Sr., Jacksonville State
Manu Johnsen – OH, Fr., Kennesaw State
Kamryn Bacus – OH, Jr., Liberty
Caroline Stogner – OH, Jr., Lipscomb
Mahalia White – OH, Jr., North Florida

Third Team All-Conference
Lauren Clark – OH, Sr., FGCU
Claire Ochs – S, Gr., Jacksonville State
Sophie Riemersma – OH, Gr., Jacksonville State
Shelby Dennis – L, Sr., Kennesaw State
Claire Parsons – MB, Jr., Kennesaw State
Madison Blane – MB, So., Liberty
Addi Pelham – RS, So., Lipscomb

# – Denotes a two-time selection to the All-Conference Team
^ – Denotes a three-time selection to the All-Conference Team
% – Denotes a four-time selection to the All-Conference Team
$ – Denotes a five-time selection to the All-Conference Team

All-Freshman Team
*Manu Johnsen – OH, Kennesaw State
Caylan Koons – OH, Central Arkansas
Sophia Hudepohl – S, Lipscomb
Courtney Jones – OH, Lipscomb
Berkley Mischler – OH, Lipscomb
Savannah Cooke – S, North Florida
Kierstyn McFall – MB, North Florida
Sophia Groom – MB, Stetson

* – Denotes unanimous selection
** – a tie in voting resulted in an eight-person All-Freshman Team

All-Academic Team
Kariana Ayala-Drew – Sr., Jacksonville
Molly Michalak – Sr., Eastern Kentucky
Dana Axner* – Sr., FGCU
Erin Shomaker# – Sr., FGCU
Lena Kindermann# – Sr., Jacksonville State
Delaney Smith – Jr., Lipscomb
Elena Djokovic# – Sr., Stetson
* – denotes a three-time selection to the All-Academic Team
# – denotes a two-time selection to the All-Academic Team

Player of the Year
Lily Felts – OH, Sr., FGCU

Defensive Player of the Year
Rocio Moro – L, Jr., North Florida

Setter of the Year
Delaney Dilfer – Jr., Liberty

Freshman of the Year
Manu Johnson – OH, Kennesaw State

Coach of the Year
Trevor Johnson, Liberty

Scholar Athlete of the Year
Kariana Ayala-Drew, Jacksonville