CANTON, Ga. – One of the best regular seasons in Millsaps volleyball program history was rewarded by league coaches as five Majors were selected to award teams. Junior
Ally Baer and senior
Anna Capezzera were named All-Southern Athletic Association First Team, sophomore
Sandy Bourgeois and senior
Zoe Elder were tabbed All-SAA Second Team, while junior
Mallory Richardson earned a spot on the All-SAA Sportsmanship Team.
The five have been instrumental in helping the Majors enter postseason play with a 22-5 overall record and 8-4 conference mark. It is the most wins the program has obtained since the 2012 campaign, with more potentially to be added.
Millsaps tied a program-best four All-SAA student-athletes (2012 and 2020) since the conference was founded in 2012, while posting two First Team recipients for the second time in program history (2012).
Baer ranks in the top five in nine SAA statistical categories and seventh in kills per set, entering postseason play. She leads in total blocks with 85 and is second in hitting percentage (.292), block assists (71) and blocks per set (0.86).
The Pace, Fla., product is currently third in points (368.5) and block solos (14), while sitting fourth in service aces (44). Her stats round out fifth in aces per set (0.44) and seventh in kills per set (2.78). Baer was a two-time SAA Volleyball Offensive Athlete of the Week.
Capezzera was equally dynamic offensively ranking second in kills (329), kills per set (3.36) and points (381.5). She also holds 303 digs, 37 aces, 29 assists and 29 blocks as well as 882 career kills.
Hailing from Jacksonville, Fla., Capezzera was a 2023 All-SAA Honorable Mention after pacing the conference in points last season. On Sept. 9, she was also voted the SAA Volleyball Offensive Athlete of the Week like her teammate.
Bourgeois was the top libero defensively in the conference. Her 485 digs (54th DIII) and 4.90 digs per set rank first. She's added 21 aces offensively and has helped the Majors rank ninth in digs per set nationally as a team (19.49).
The Luling, La., native made Millsaps history joining Baer as the SAA Defensive Athlete of the Week on Nov. 4. The pair were the first Major duo to sweep an SAA weekly plaudit together in the same week.
Elder has been a pillar of the Major offense, setting up a potent attack. The Starkville, Miss., setter currently ranks in the top eight appropriately in eight categories. She is second in assists (874), assists per set (9.10) and third in block assists (54). Of note, Elder's 874 helpers are now 10th most in a single season in program history. The senior has amassed 2,422 career assists to date.
Additionally, Elder is sixth in total blocks (61), seventh in digs (330) and digs per set (3.44) as well as eighth in block solos (seven) and blocks per set (0.64).
Richardson makes the All-SAA Sportsmanship Team with her tremendous character and positive attitude towards her teammates and opponents. She also ranks third on the team with 205 kills and fifth with 27 blocks. The Pensacola, Fla., product also possesses 54 digs.
"
Mallory Richardson is a great role model on and off the court," said Millsaps volleyball head coach
Jaime Fisher. "She exemplifies good sportsmanship with the leadership and character she brings to the sport and her teammates on a consistent basis."
The Majors now travel to Danville, Ky. to compete for a conference crown in the 2024 Southern Athletic Association Volleyball Championship. Millsaps enters as the No. 3 seed and will face No. 6 seed Hendrix in the First Round, beginning at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, Nov. 15.
Live video, live stats, ticket and tournament information are available on the Millsaps volleyball schedule at gomajors.com.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps volleyball program follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.
