CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Four Missouri State volleyball players earned all-Missouri Valley Conference honors Thursday (Nov. 27), it was announced at the MVC Tournament awards ceremony in Cedar Falls. Lily Johnson is the MVC Freshman of the Year and is joined by Olivia Brand as first-team selections, Andrea Beaty is a second-team choice, and Lynsey Wright joins Johnson on the all-Freshman Team.

Missouri State's third MVC Freshman of the Year in the last five seasons and sixth overall, Johnson leads the MVC in kills (3.96/set), points (4.48/set) and aces (0.33/set), while also averaging 2.51 digs and 0.37 blocks. The outside hitter from Wildwood, Mo., owns MSU freshman records for kills in a match (26) and season (459), while her season total ranks 10th in school history overall. Johnson has 11 kill-dig double-doubles, 25 matches with at least 10 kills, and five matches with 20 or more kills on the year. Her kill average is the highest for an MSU player since 2004, while no Bear has led the MVC in kills since 1998.

Brand averaged 3.17 kills for the year and upped that number to 3.62 in conference matches with a .268 hitting percentage against MVC competition. The Springfield native ranks 14th in Missouri State history with 1,127 career kills, and has 19 matches this year with 10 or more kills and 50 in her career. The senior outside hitter slammed a career-high 27 kills on Nov. 14 against Southern Illinois, the most for an MSU player since 2004. Brand was the 2011 MVC Freshman of the Year, a second-team all-MVC pick in 2013, and a three-time MVC Scholar-Athlete selection.

Beaty ranks seventh in the MVC with a .309 hitting percentage while averaging 1.87 kills and 0.91 blocks per set. A native of Pacific, Mo., Beaty has led the Bears in blocking 13 times this season, including a career-high 10 stuffs in the regular-season finale at Indiana State, the most for an MSU player since 2011. The senior middle blocker has seven matches of at least 10 kills on the year, and is a Capital One Academic All-District VI Second Team pick and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection this year.

Wright makes the all-Freshman Team after ranking eighth in the MVC with a .298 hitting percentage on the year with averages of 2.23 kills and 0.62 blocks per set. In league matches, Wright hit .320, good for fifth in the conference, and put together 12 matches this season with at least 10 kills. The middle blocker from Glen Carbon, Ill., had at least three blocks on 13 occasions, and led the Bears in that category on seven occasions.

The fourth-seeded Bears (19-11, 12-6 MVC) open tournament play today at 5 p.m. against Southern Illinois (16-14, 10-8).

First Team