Women's Volleyball: Marthins, Hilyer headline several All-PAC selections
GREENVILLE, Pa. – Bethany College junior middle hitter/middle blocker Emma Marthins (Elkridge, Md. | Howard) led a group of six All-PAC selections by being named PAC Player of the Year announced by the league office Tuesday afternoon.
16th-year head coach Courtney Hilyer was named the league's coach of the year, while senior Alaina Torres (Lanexa, Va. | New Kent) joined Emma Marthins as All-PAC First Team honorees.
Senior middle hitter Riley Felton (Salineville, Ohio | Southern Local) and junior outside hitter Destiny Goodnight (Youngstown, Ohio | Mercyhurst North East) were named All-PAC Second Team, while sophomore libero Asia Crim (Shoals, Ind. | Loogootee) was tabbed an All-PAC Honorable Mention.
Marthins helped lead Bethany to its third PAC Championship Tournament title (2016, 2018) with a 3-1 victory over top-seeded Thiel College on Nov. 5 at Maenpa Court at Beeghly Gymnasium in Greenville. Bethany is the league's first No. 6 seed to claim the tournament title.
Marthins, a three-time All-PAC selection and two-time First Team honoree, earned a spot on the league's All-Tournament team for the second-straight season. She is Bethany's third all-time Player of the Year award winner.
Marthins hit .290 this season with 282 kills (2.50/s) and 112 total blocks (0.99/s). Her 282 kills were sixth in the league while her 112 blocks, currently the 16th most in NCAA Division III, were third. She has totaled 366 points this fall, averaging 3.24 per set. During Bethany's 6-4 conference regular season, Marthins hit .305 with 114 kills (2.78/s) and 30 total blocks (0.73/s). In league play Marthins posted 140 points (3.41/s). She had 10 or more kills 18 times this season, including a career-high 16 in a 3-1 victory over Washington & Jefferson College on October 25. Marthins registered a career-best 11 total blocks in a five-set win over Chatham on September 29.
Torres earned her second-straight appearance as an All-PAC First Team honoree. In Bethany's semifinal win over Grove City College, Torres eclipsed 2,000 career assists. She ranks 7th on Bethany's all-time career assists list. She is averaging 8.14 assists per set and has 781 assists this season.
Felton has totaled 222 kills while hitting .259 this season. She leads the team in blocks with 115 (50 solo) while ranking 11th in the NCAA Division III for total blocks and 40th in blocks per set. Felton sits second all-time on Bethany's total blocks list with 247.
Goodnight had a stellar performance this season with 244 kills and 65 blocks (12 solo). She earned PAC All-Tournament honors after totaling 44 kills through three matches in the PAC Tournament. Goodnight hit 17 kills with a .342 hitting percentage against Allegheny and had 16 kills against Grove City to help put the Bison in the PAC Championship. Her final kill of the match against Thiel sealed the Bison's third PAC Championship.
Crim earned All-PAC Honorable Mention for her performance as the Bison's libero this season. She had 498 digs with 4.26 digs per set. She had 56 service aces and 41 assists. In the PAC Tournament, she totaled nine aces and 70 digs.
The coach of the year award is Hilyer's fourth. She led Bethany to the league's title match for a second-straight year and has played in the title match six times since 2011. Bethany's three conference championships have all been won under Hilyer's direction.
As this year's championship tournament winner, Bethany earned the league's automatic qualifying bid (Pool A) to the Division III Championship. Bethany will face No. 6 Emory University in the opening round Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. It will be Bethany's third all-time appearance in the Division III Championship.
