CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Four Missouri State volleyball players earned all-conference recognition and Christine McCartney was named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year Thursday at the MVC Tournament banquet in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Juniors Kelley Michnowicz and Calli Norman repeated as First Team selections, while McCartney and Carly Thomas made the All-Freshman Team.

    Michnowicz leads the MVC with a .378 overall hitting percentage, and that number jumps to .393 in league matches. Her .378 attack efficiency ranks second in MSU history for a season, and she has 12 double-figure kill matches on the way to averaging 2.35 kills, 0.63 blocks, 0.38 digs and 0.30 assists per set. The Belleville, Ill., native was the MVC Player of the Week on Oct. 11 and Nov. 15 of this season.

    Norman is on the first team for a third consecutive season with averages of 2.78 kills and 0.94 blocks on a .251 hitting percentage. The St. Charles, Mo., native is sixth in school history with a .295 career attack efficiency and ranks in the MVC’s top 20 in blocks (5th), kills (14th) and hitting (17th). 

    McCartney is the fourth Missouri State player to win MVC Freshman of the Year, joining Vanessa Wouters (1994), Jessica Hovorka (1995) and Shanda Harper (2006) on that list. The rookie from Arlington, Texas, averages 3.37 kills with 320 overall, second and fifth in MSU history among freshmen, while placing fourth in the MVC in conference matches only with 3.73 kills per set. McCartney leads MSU with 20 double-figure kill matches and was the league’s freshman of the week three times in 2010.
   
    Thomas has split time at setter this season and averages 0.64 kills, 7.77 assists, 2.02 digs, 0.30 blocks and 0.22 aces per set on a .308 hitting percentage. A native of Swansea, Ill., Thomas was the Valley Freshman of the Week on Nov. 1 and 15, and has averaged 9.00 assists, 0.83 kills and 0.58 blocks over the Bears’ last seven matches.
   
    Missouri State opens MVC Tournament play as the fourth seed Thursday at 8 p.m. against No. 5 Illinois State.

First Team
Megan Bober, CU
Alana Wittenburg, DU
Calli Norman, MSU
Kelley Michnowicz, MSU
Bre Payton, UNI
Ellie Blankenship, UNI
Michelle Burow, UNI
Beth Discher, UNI
Krista DeGeest, UNI
Sarah McGee, WSU
Mary Elizabeth Hooper, WSU
Emily Adney, WSU

Second Team
Laurel Sanford, CU
Alicia Runge, CU
Emily Wandersee, UE
Stacy Qualizza, INS
Jennifer Berwanger, SIU
Camri Zwiesler, WSU

All-Freshman Team
Julianne Mandolfo, CU
Shannon McGlaughlin, ILS
Christine McCartney, MSU
Carly Thomas, MSU
Shelby Kintzel, UNI
Elizabeth Field, WSU