Hintze and Wright Tabbed All-Conference
Nov 7, 2019
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference announced their postseason awards for the 2019 volleyball season, with four Spartans garnering recognition. Kara Wright and Grace Hintze grabbed All-Conference honors and Kate Messino and Darby Hawtrey attained honorable mention recognition.
The 2018 conference most valuable player, Kara Wright (Stockton, Ill./Stockton) backed up her 2018 play with another all-conference season in 2019. Wright once again leads the Spartans in kills with 334 over 30 games. The 334 kills puts her fifth among all hitters in the conference. Wright also sits on the top 10 leaderboard in the conference in digs, accumulating 387 digs and an average of 3.53 per set.
Grace Hintze (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant) has had an impressive freshman campaign, finishing right behind Wright in kills for the 12th most in the conference with 294 kills, averaging 3.16 a set. With her 294 kills, Hintze had a hitting percentage of .224, the 13th best in the A-R-C.
After winning conference Freshman of the Year in 2018, Kate Messino (McHenry, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) grabbed honorable mention honors as a sophomore. Messino is in fourth in the conference in assists with 931 kills, but will move into third with just five assists on Thursday night. Messino sits right behind her teammate, Kara Wright, on the digs leaderboard, sitting in 11th with 330.
Darby Hawtrey (Clarence, Iowa/North Cedar) made her presence felt in her first season at UD after transferring in to earn honorable mention honors. Despite battling injuries throughout the season, Hawtrey still managed to finish with the fifth most kills on the team with 160, but had the best kill per set ratio among all players at 3.14.
The Spartans will look to keep their season alive tonight when they travel down the road to face Loras in the American Rivers Conference Tournament Semifinals.
