Baker named CUSA Libero of the Year
11/20/2024 12:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
DALLAS – Sam Houston libero Hannah Baker has been named the Conference USA Libero of the Year and earned second-team all-conference honors, the league announced in a release on Wednesday.Â
This marks Baker's first career postseason superlative award, punctuating her 2024 resume which also includes a Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16. She recorded 10 matches with 20 or more digs this season, highlighted by a season-high 28 digs at Liberty. Â
Baker, who has etched her name in the record books as Sam Houston's all-time digs leader with 2,353, enters this week's Conference USA Tournament leading CUSA in digs per set and is the only libero in the conference to rank in the top 50 nationally, averaging 4.74 digs per set. Her contributions have led the way for a Bearkat defense which ranks No. 27 nationally in team digs.Â
The honor is the first postseason superlative for a Bearkat since the program transitioned to CUSA ahead of the 2023 season, and she is the third Kat since 2018 to earn a league's Libero of the Year nod at season's end. Madison Wallace and Addison Miller each were named the Southland Conferene Libero of the Year in consecutive seasons in 2018 and 2019, respectively.Â
Baker and the Bearkats earned the No. 6 seed in this week's Conference USA Tournament, beginning Friday at Memorial Gym in El Paso. The Kats will take on No. 3 NM State in the opening round at 8:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+ with the winner advancing to the semifinals to face the winner of No. 2 UTEP and No. 7 Liberty. Â
