Rance, Wyman Tabbed For All-SEC Honors

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Senior outside hitter Caitlin Rance and freshman middle blocker Lainey Wyman can add All-Southeastern Conference designation to their lists of honors at Mississippi State. The MSU players are included in the 2011 Volleyball All-SEC Awards selected by the league's volleyball coaches and announced Monday by the Southeastern Conference.

Rance, from Kingwood, Texas, earned All-SEC second-team designation while Wyman, from Plainfield, Ill., was named to the seven-player SEC All-Freshman Team. Rance is the 10th Mississippi State player accorded All-SEC honors while Wyman is the second Bulldog rookie to receive all-freshman team distinction.

Jenny Hazelwood, who recently completed her third season as MSU's head volleyball coach, said both Bulldogs were worthy recipients of all-conference honors.

"Caitlin is definitely deserving of being named All-SEC after the kind of year she had," said Hazelwood. "She is one of the hardest working athletes I have ever coached and I am pleased that she has ended her career with this huge honor. Lainey has been so solid from the moment she first walked into our gym. Her ability and her competitiveness make her such a valuable asset to this program. She established herself as one of the best in the SEC as a freshman and I am excited to see all that she will do during her Mississippi State career."

Rance piled up a team-leading 443 (4.18 k/s) kills this fall, third-most in a season at MSU, and for the second consecutive year finished second in the league in kills. She ranked second in the SEC with 490 points (4.62 p/s) and concluded her four-year career with 1,138 kills, seventh-most in school history. Rance started all 29 matches this fall and reached double figures in kills in 24 matches, including a career-high 27 kills in an Oct. 9 win against Auburn.

In her rookie season, Wyman piled up 108 total blocks, third-most in the SEC in 2011 and the most by a Mississippi State freshman all-time. She ranked second on the team with 247 kills and led freshmen in the Southeastern Conference in both blocks and kills. Wyman, one of MSU's two 29-match starters, had four or more blocks in 15 matches in 2011 and averaged 3.7 blocks per match for the season. Twice during the 2011 campaign Wyman was honored as the SEC Freshman of the Week.

Former MSU middle blocker Ashley Newsome earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2010 while in 2006 outside hitter Martina Gregusova became the first MSU player to earn SEC All-Freshman Team honors.

The Bulldogs completed their 37th season of volleyball earlier this month with a 12-17 overall record and a 7-13 league mark, finishing tied for sixth in the SEC and tying for the second-most conference wins in school history.