NEW ORLEANS – The Texas State volleyball team dominated the 2018 Sun Belt Conference postseason awards, the league announced Tuesday morning.
 
For the second year in a row, the Bobcats led the conference with four first-team selections, five overall selections and three specialty award winners. The number of first-team honorees and specialty award winners tied school records set last season, while the collective number of laurels was one shy of the all-time mark.
 
Senior Madison Daigle, junior Cheyenne Huskey and freshmen Janell Fitzgerald and Emily DeWalt were all named to the 2018 All-Sun Belt First Team. Senior Amy Pflughaupt was selected to the 2018 All-Sun Belt Second Team.
 
DeWalt was named both the 2018 Sun Belt Setter and Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. She became the first rookie in conference history to win both laurels. Karen Chisum was named the 2018 Sun Belt Coach of the Year.
 
DeWalt joins Pflughaupt (2017 Newcomer of the Year), junior Micah Dinwiddie (2017 Defensive Player of the Year) and former greats Erin Hoppe (2017 Setter of the Year) and Jordan Kohl (2014 Freshman of the Year) as the five specialty award winners for TXST since the maroon and gold joined the Sun Belt in 2013.
 
Chisum earned her sixth coach of the year accolade and first in the Sun Belt. She led the maroon and gold to their first Sun Belt Regular Season Championship with a 15-1 mark in league play. The Bobcats are 24-6 overall and have a conference-leading RPI of No. 26.
 
The Bobcats currently lead the Sun Belt in hitting percentage (.264), assists (13.38) and kills (14.05) during the regular season. If the numbers hold, this would mark the second-consecutive year that TXST led in all three categories.
 
TXST has the No. 1 overall seed and the accompanying double bye at the 2018 Sun Belt Conference Championship, which will be hosted by Georgia State University and emanate Nov. 15-18 inside GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta. The Bobcats will begin play in the semifinals at 4 p.m. Nov. 17.
 
EMILY DeWALT
Fr., S, Helotes, Texas
Sun Belt Setter of the Year / Sun Belt Freshman of the Year / All-Sun Belt First Team
DeWalt became the third student-athlete in school history to be named setter of the year, joining Hoppe (Sun Belt, 2017) and recent TXST Hall of Honor inductee Krystal Kolkhorst-Moy (Southland, 2004). The freshman has been setting records left and right in her inaugural campaign. She broke the all-time Sun Belt record with 11 player of the week accolades this season, earning six setter of the week awards and five freshman of the week distinctions. She also earned national recognition on five occasions, including becoming just the fourth player in Sun Belt history and the first player in school history to be honored as AVCA National Player of the Week (Oct. 2). She led the Sun Belt in total assists during conference play (652) and is currently second in total assists (1,130). She also enters postseason play ninth in the league in aces per set (0.28).
 
MADISON DAIGLE
Sr., MB, Baton Rouge, La.
All-Sun Belt First Team
Daigle ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in hitting percentage this season (.356) and sixth in blocks (1.09). She was even more potent during conference play, finishing third in attack percentage (.406). She is fourth on the team in kills per set (2.43), while adding 68 digs, 16 assists and 15 service aces. She was honored as the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3. The accolade is her second-straight first team laurel and third career all-conference award (2015 Second Team).
 
CHEYENNE HUSKEY
Jr., OH, Columbus, Texas
All-Sun Belt First Team
Huskey transferred from Florida and made an immediate impact upon her arrival. She transitioned from setter to outside hitter early in the year and went on to lead the Bobcats and rank sixth in the conference in kills (306) and kills per set (2.97). She has also added 189 digs, 66 blocks, 52 assists and 25 aces. Huskey earned national recognition on Sept. 18 by being selected as a VolleyMob.com National Player of the Week Honorable Mention. She was also named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 17).
 
JANELL FITZGERALD
Fr., OH, Mansfield, Texas
All-Sun Belt First Team
Fitzgerald ingratiated herself into the lineup early in her debut season and became a staple in the Texas State offense. She is second on the team and seventh in the conference in kills per set (2.96), while posting the sixth-best hitting percentage during conference play (.347). She has also added 57 blocks, 51 digs and five assists. She was the only freshman in the league to be named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week twice (Oct. 1, Nov. 12), and she was also once named Sun Belt Freshman of the Week (Nov. 12).
 
AMY PFLUGHAUPT
Sr., OH, El Campo, Texas
All-Sun Belt Second Team
Pflughaupt built upon her successful 2017 campaign that saw her land on the Sun Belt First Team and earn Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year honors. She is currently second on the team with 289 kills and ranks ninth in the Sun Belt in kills per set (2.92). She has added 118 digs, 34 blocks, 11 assists and one ace. Pflughaupt was also once named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10).

2018 All-SUN BELT FIRST TEAM
Emma Longley, Appalachian State (Jr., OH, Raleigh, N.C.)
Becky Porter, Appalachian State (Sr., S, Charlotte, N.C.)
Veronica Marin, Little Rock (Sr., MB, Tulcea, Romania)
Carlisa May, Arkansas State (Sr., OH, Lee's Summit, Mo.)
Sydney Alvis, Coastal Carolina (Sr., DS, Maidans, Va.)
Kyla Manning, Coastal Carolina (So., OH, Atlanta, Ga.)
Anett Nemeth, Coastal Carolina (Fr., OH, Pecel, Hungary)
Madison Hill, UTA (Jr., MB, Rockwall, Texas)
Madison Daigle, Texas State (Sr., MB, Baton Rouge, La.)
Emily DeWalt, Texas State (Fr., S, Helotes, Texas)
Cheyenne Huskey, Texas State (Jr., OH/S, Columbus, Texas)
Janell Fitzgerald, Texas State (Fr., OH, Mansfield, Texas)

2018 All-SUN BELT SECOND TEAM
Emma Reilly, Appalachian State (So., DS, Evergreen Park, Ill.)
Kara Spicer, Appalachian State (So., MB, Peoria, Ariz.)
Carol Barbosa, Little Rock (Jr., MH, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Ellie Watkins, Arkansas State (Sr., S, Weldon Spring, Mo.)
Lauren Reichard, Georgia Southern (Sr., MH, Wrightsville, Pa.)
Hanna Rovira, Louisiana (Sr., OH, Baton Rouge, La.)
Hali Wisnoskie, Louisiana (So., OH, Columbus, Texas)
Kelley Hartman, South Alabama (Jr., MB, Woodstock, Ga.)
Cheyenne Hayes, Troy (So., OH, Newnan, Ga.)
Zhanelle Geathers, UTA (Sr., MB, Lindale, Texas)
Kylie Jedlicka, UTA (Jr., OH, League City, Texas)
Amy Pflughaupt, Texas State (Sr., OH, El Campo, Texas)

2018 Sun Belt Player of the Year
Veronica Marin, Little Rock (Sr., MB, Tulcea, Romania)
 
2018 Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year
Carlisa May, Arkansas State (Senior, OH, Lee's Summit, Mo.)

2018 Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year
Sydney Alvis, Coastal Carolina (Sr., DS, Maidans, Va.)

2018 Sun Belt Setter of the Year
Emily DeWalt, Texas State (Fr., S, Helotes, Texas)
 
2018 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year
Emily DeWalt, Texas State (Fr., S, Helotes, Texas)
 
2018 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year
Becky Porter, Appalachian State (Sr., S, Charlotte, N.C.)
 
2018 Sun Belt Coach of the Year
Karen Chisum, Texas State