WC takes top awards in volleyball all-conference

Weatherford College dominated the 2023 conference volleyball season, so it's appropriate that the all-conference volleyball awards list is full of Coyotes. 

The coaches of the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference announced its 2023 All-Conference team on Monday, and WC took five of the six top awards. Kailee May won the Coach of the Year Award for the second straight year. May's teams are 25-3 in conference play in her two years at the helm of the new program. 

Meagan Ledbetter, the 5-foot-9-inch sophomore from Azle, shared the Player of the Year Award with Shae Pruiett of North Central Texas College. During the regular season, Ledbetter had 61 service aces, which ranked 12th in the nation. 

Selanny Puente earned Offensive Player of the Year honors. The 6-4 Dominican Republic native was third in the nation in hitting percentage (.405) and registered 233 kills. 

Lorena Gomez was named Setter of the Year. The Northwest Eaton High School graduate had 651 assists, or 6.32 per set. 

Peighton Serda, a transfer from Oklahoma Christian University, earned the Newcomer of the Year Award. She had 245 kills, or 2.5 per set. 

In addition to Ledbetter, Puente, Gomez and Serda, Brooke McHale earned first-team all-conference honors for the second straight year. The Plano High School product had 2.6 kills per set and 57 service aces, which was 18th best in the country. 

Abby Benitez, Dru Witherspoon and Abby Folsom all earned second-team honors. 

No. 12 Weatherford is 29-3 overall after finishing the regular season as the NTJCAC champion. WC is hosting the Region V Tournament at the Graber Athletic Center on Nov. 2–4. WC will face Western Texas at 1 p.m. Thursday in the first round.