EUGENE, Ore. – Two seniors and an assistant coach were recently honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as they announced their All-Region Awards.   
 
Leading the way was Hailey Heider, who was one of 13 to be selected as a First-Team All-West Region selection for the second straight season.  
 
Heider led the Beacons to an historic season as the Beacons took third-place in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, reached as high as No. 19 in the NAIA Coaches Poll and qualified for the NAIA National Championship Tournament Final Site for the first time in school history. She was a First-Team All-CCC honoree as well, for the second time.
 
Heider finished the year ranked second in the CCC for total kills (453) and third for kills per set (3.51). She broke Bushnell's single-season record for kills, and despite playing just two seasons for the Beacons, finished eighth on the all-time kills list with 807.
 
Heider's season featured 15 games with 14-or-more kills and 12 double-doubles, including a 20-kill/20-dig performance against Walla Walla on October 31. In the CCC tournament on November 13 she broke Bushnell's single-match record with 28 kills against Northwest University. She also led the Beacons with 45 aces and ranked eighth in the CCC at 0.35 aces per set. She was also second on the team with 326 digs.
 
With 317 kills and 82 blocks, senior Right Side Hitter Leah Agost was also named an AVCA All-Region Honorable Mention for the first time in her career. The First-Team All-CCC selection finished the year with a .277 attack percentage, the seventh-highest in school history and the best for a Beacon in five years.
 
The final honor was the AVCA West Region Assistant Coach of the Year honor which was bestowed upon Marlee Smith. Smith is in her eighth season as the top assistant for the Beacons, a stretch which has included four qualifications for the NAIA National Championships and a historic run in which the Beacons have won over 60% of their matches.
 
Head Coach Jason Corwin, who has worked side-by-side with Smith for over a decade and was her collegiate coach at Oregon Tech as well, said, "Marlee's contributions to our program are invaluable.  She revamped our team culture development over the last eight years, her feedback and questions are always on point, and she gets the best out of our players. This program has steadily improved every year because of Marlee. I am grateful for her dedication and sacrifice serving Bushnell University."
 
Both Smith and Heider will be candidates for AVCA national awards when they are announced later this month.