SPRINGFIELD -- Missouri State's Lily Johnson is the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, and Kinsey Batten is the Setter of the year, headlining a group of four Bears on all-MVC volleyball teams announced at the league's annual pre-tournament awards ceremony Thursday at Hammons Student Center. Johnson and Batten also earned first-team all-conference honors, while Simone House is a second-team pick and Emily Butters is on the all-Freshman Team.

Johnson joins Linette White (2003) as the school's second MVC Player of the Year, and leads the conference with 4.47 kills and 4.97 points per set. In conference matches, Johnson's totals increase to 4.69 kills and 5.25 points to go with an MVC-high 0.34 aces per set. She hits .231 on the season and also averages 2.99 digs and 0.33 blocks.

A sophomore outside hitter from Wildwood, Mo., Johnson became the 20th MSU player and first sophomore to reach 1,000 career kills on Nov. 20. Her 536 kills in 2015 rank third in Missouri State history, while her average ranks fourth. Johnson has 15 matches this season with at least 20 kills, and recently completed a school-record streak of 36 consecutive matches with at least 10 kills. She ranks eighth nationally in both total kills and total points.

Batten is MSU's first Setter of the Year after the award was introduced by the league last season. The senior from Springfield leads the MVC in assists both overall and in league matches, averaging 11.12 per set for the full season and 11.27 in MVC play. Her 1,334 assists in 2015 rank ninth in MSU history for a single season, and currently place her 11th nationally. Batten has 14 double-doubles on the year and averages 2.47 digs, 0.77 kills and 0.48 blocks per set. Her 2,788 career assists rank fifth at MSU.

House has enjoyed a solid junior season in which she hit .314 overall and .345 in Valley matches, good for eighth or better in the league in both categories. She averages 1.81 kills and 0.95 blocks per set on the year, leading the Bears in blocking 19 times. An all-freshman selection in 2013, the middle blocker from Oshkosh, Wis., ranks third in MSU history with a career .306 attack efficiency.

Butters has 502 digs on the year to rank 10th in Missouri State history and first among freshmen by a wide margin. The Richmond, Texas, product averaged 4.51 digs per set in MVC matches to place fourth in the conference, and averages 4.18 digs for the full season with 26 matches in double figures and seven matches of 20 or more, including a high of 29 at UNI. She also has 81 assists and 15 service aces on the season.

The third-seeded Bears (22-9, 13-5) begin MVC Tournament play tonight at 7:30 against No. 6 Loyola (20-11).

First Team
Kinsey Batten, Missouri State
Andrea Estrada, Southern Illinois
Kayla Haneline, UNI
Amie Held, UNI
Emily Hiebert, Wichita State
Lily Johnson, Missouri State
Jaelyn Keene, Illinois State
Abbie Lehman, Wichita State
Dani Mostrom, Wichita State
Taylor Pippen, Southern Illinois
Katie Reilly, Wichita State
Ashley Rosch, Illinois State
Meg Viggars, Southern Illinois

Second Team
Sami Hansen, Loyola
Caroline Holt, Loyola
Simone House, Missouri State
Genesis Miranda, Evansville
Kynedi Nalls, Indiana State
Courtney Pence, Illinois State
Mikaela Raudsepp, Wichita State
Morgan Reardon, Loyola

Honorable Mention
Emily Butters, Missouri State
Shimen Fayad, Wichita State
Ali Line, Illinois State
Courtney Pence, Illinois State
Piper Thomas, UNI
Lexi Varga, Illinois State