Photo: Winners of team awards following the inaugural volleyball season at Northeast Mississippi Community college were (from left) Giselle Lopez of Belmont, Paris Morris of Tupelo, Skyla Adair of Tupelo, Irby Norris of Hernando, Madeline Ledbetter of Red Bay, Ala., Avery Thomas of Lewisburg, Kami Wilf of Amory and Amberianna Shorter of New Albany. (Photo credit: Michael H. Miller/Northeast Public Information)
Credit: Northeast Community College Public Information
Members of Northeast Mississippi Community College’s volleyball team were celebrated for their roles in setting the stage for a very bright future.
Eight ladies on the all-freshman roster received awards from head coach Brenda Mayes at the conclusion of their inaugural campaign.
“The improvement as we went along through the season was what I wanted to see,” said Mayes. “Those young ladies set a standard because they were competing as if it wasn’t our first year.”
Giselle Lopez collected the most hardware, including most digs and the defensive most valuable player. She was also acknowledged as one of three team captains along with Irby Norris and Kami Wilf.
The Belmont High School graduate had 240 digs in the back row as the Lady Tigers’ primary libero in all 31 matches. She contributed to the offense as well with a team-best 30 service aces.
Amberianna Shorter of New Albany was voted as best passer and most improved. She had the fewest errors of any Northeast player with more than 200 receptions and finished just behind Lopez with 232 digs.
Shorter shared most improved honors with Tupelo’s Paris Morris. She appeared in 14 consecutive contests to end the year and had a career-high 11 digs in a victory by the Lady Tigers over Cleveland State (Tenn.) Community College.
Avery Thomas from Lewisburg was Northeast’s offensive most valuable player with over 200 total points. She led Northeast with 408 receptions and also reached triple-digits in kills and digs.
Skyla Adair of Tupelo was recognized for accumulating the most blocks with 36 overall, including 16 solos and 20 assisted. She was one of only five Lady Tigers that participated in all 97 sets.
Hernando’s Norris obtained the accolade for most kills with 253. She also had a .144 hitting percentage, which was tops among Northeast’s middle and outside hitters, plus a team-high 2.8 points per set.
Amory’s Wilf was decorated for having the most assists with 653, which was second best among all setters in the region. She posted five double-doubles, including a 26-assist and 12-dig performance in a home win over Mississippi University for Women’s junior varsity squad.
Madeline Ledbetter from Red Bay, Ala., secured the academic award. She was one of just two volleyball student-athletes alongside Wilf to maintain a flawless 4.0 grade point average (GPA) during the entire 2023-24 school year.
