Billiard, Ciprian Earn VaSID Recognition
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Two Virginia volleyball players, Milla Ciprian (St. John’s, Fla.) and Sarah Billiard (Matthews, N.C.), earned All-State honors from the Virginia Sports Information Directors. Both were named second team honorees.
Ciprian set a new school record for first year players by averaging 1.35 blocks per set. She became just the fourth Cavalier freshman to ever record 100 blocks and her 105 total blocks were the most by a rookie since 1989. The 1.35 blocks per set stand as the fourth-best average in program history, regardless of class.
Ciprian also set a single match record for blocks, recording 13 against Boston College. The total is the most by a Virginia player in a five-set match. She also set the second-best blocking mark in a three-set match in school history with 10 rejections in a sweep of Wake Forest.
Billiard earned All-State recognition after leading the Cavaliers with 368 kills on the season. She recorded double-digit kills in 22 matches this season and eclipsed 20 kills on three occasions. She set a career-high with 25 kills against George Mason while hitting .417.
In addition, Billiard set a career-high with her .500 (12-3-18) hitting percentage in a sweep of North Carolina. As a sophomore, Billiard raised her kills per set average by 0.60 and increased her hitting percentage by .041. She added 60 total blocks to average 3.85 points per set.
The All-State honors are the first for both Billiard and Ciprian.
2018 VaSID VOLLEYBALL ALL-STATE
Major Award Winners
Player of the Year: M’Kaela White (James Madison)
Rookie of the Year: ShaLi Niu (George Mason)
Coach of the Year: Lauren Steinbrecher (James Madison)
First Team
At Large – Tori Baldwin (VCU)
At Large – Megann Delgado (Hampton)
At Large – Mallory McKnight (Radford)
At Large – Jasmin Sneed (VCU)
At Large – Jaila Tolbert (Virginia Tech)
At Large – M’Kaela White (James Madison)
Libero/DS – Sarah Driscoll (James Madison)
Second Team
At Large – Sarah Billiard (Virginia)
At Large – Milla Ciprian (Virginia)
At Large – Casey Goodwin (Liberty)
At Large – Haley Kleepsies (Radford)
At Large – Sarah Martin (James Madison)
At Large – Bryn Recker (James Madison)
Libero/DS – Catie Espinoza (George Mason)