Missouri State junior setter Carly Thomas, an Althoff High graduate from Swansea, was a first-team selection on the All-Missouri Valley Conference volleyball team for the second straight season.

Another Althoff graduate, Air Force Academy sophomore setter Hillary Keltner, was named Most Valuable Player of the Falcons volleyball team.

Thomas ranked third in the MVC and 30th nationally by averaging 11.17 assists, dishing out 1,312 assists overall. She also averaged 1.3 kills, 2.94 digs and hit at a .239 clip.

Thomas had three kill-assist-dig triple-doubles this season, the most by a MSU player since 1989. She also had 15 assist-dig double-doubles.

Thomas ranks second in Missouri State history with 3,371 career assists and was the CVU.com National Player of the Week Oct. 30.

Missouri State finished 16-15 overall and 10-8 in the MVC.

Keltner became the fifth Air Force player in Division I history and first since 2005 with more than 1,000 assists as she recorded 1,018 this season.

She also led the team in hitting, averaging a .253 percentage with 113 kills. She ranked second on the team with 216 digs and added 41 blocks.

Her 13 double-doubles (assists and digs) was tied for second in the Mountain West Conference. The Falcons were 9-21 this season, including 3-13 in the Mountain West Conference.

The overall wins and conference wins are the most by Air Force since 2003.

* Purdue University freshman and former Edwardsville High All-American Sam Epenesa were scheduled to play Minnesota on Friday night in the NCAA Regional semifinals on their home court in West Lafayette, Ind.

Epenesa is a 6-foot outside hitter from Glen Carbon. Before Friday she had played in 12 matches and had 21 kills and 11 service aces.

Purdue (23-10), ranked 22nd, is making its sixth NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in the last eight years.

* Another Edwardsville High graduate, Alabama senior outside hitter Kayla Fitterer, was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference selection. Fitterer also was named to the SEC's Community Service Team.

Fitterer led the Crimson Tide (18-14 overall, 7-13 in SEC play) with 362 kills this season, adding a .254 hitting percentage and 197 digs. She reached double-digits in kills 21 times and had at least 20 or more kills four times.

That included a season-high 26 kills Nov. 16 against South Carolina and also Nov. 23 against Missouri in her final collegiate match.

Her 1,351 career kills rank seventh in Alabama history and her 4,137 kill attempts ranks second in school history.

She led Alabama in kills the past three seasons, finishing second in the SEC as a sophomore and junior and fifth this season.

Fitterer also is a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection an was named a Commerce and Business Administration Scholastic Athlete in 2010.

* St. Louis University senior middle blocker Carly Marcum (Althoff) led the Billikens (10-20) with 251 kills and 116 blocks. Senior defensive specialist Andrea Bolt (Freeburg) was third on the team with 22 service aces and also had 233 digs.

* Missouri State sophomore defensive specialist-libero Maddy Hogan (Freeburg) played in 30 matches, racking up 260 digs. She also had 14 service aces.

* Murray State freshman setter Sam Bedard (Mater Dei) played in 17 matches and started five for the Racers (5-20), Bedard was second on the team with 178 assists and third with 123 digs.

*Althoff graduate Madeline Nesbit, a junior middle blocker, helped Missouri Baptist (34-6) reach the NAIA National Championship Tournament this season. She led the team with 68 blocks and was fourth in kills with 286.

Nesbit twice had 15 kills in a match and had eight kills in the season-ending loss to Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at the NAIA national tourney.