SAN ANGELO – The All-America list for the Angelo State volleyball program has more than doubled with Alex Woolsey, Maddie Huth and Shelbi Goode being named 2012 American Volleyball Coaches Association's Division II All-Americans.

ASU, which advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championships Finals for the first time in school history and broke a 20-year drought by winning the Lone Star Conference's regular season championship, came into this season with two Second-Team All-America selections in its history with Brenda Virjan earning the award in 1980 and Rose Molinar in 1992. Woolsey and Huth become the first Belles in history to be named AVCA First-Team All-America, while Goode was named to the AVCA Third-Team.  

“It's really awesome for our kids to be recognized for their hard work throughout the season,” ASU head coach Chuck Waddington. “I know they would trade it in to still be playing this week at the national tournament because they are team-first kids, but they really earned this award and were all tremendous for us this season. I knew they could each become All-Americans when they came here and I'm unbelievably proud of them and appreciative for what they've done for our program.”

Click for career stats for Huth, Goode, Woolsey

Woolsey finishes her four-year career at Angelo State as one of the best players in program history. She is the all-time career leader in assists with 5,175 and finished her senior season with 1,484 assists. Along with being named an All-American, she was also named to the NCAA DII South Central All-Tournament team, the AVCA South Central All-Region Team, the LSC Setter of the Year, to the LSC first-team, to the LSC All-Tournament team and she was a four-time LSC Setter of the Week selection. Woolsey also has 340 digs this season and ranks fifth all-time in ASU history with 1,252 digs in her career.

“I'd be lying if I said becoming an All-American wasn't a goal of mine,” Woolsey said. “My sister was an All-American (in 1999 at Texas A&M) and I wanted to be one too. I think it says a lot about our team and how great we all played this season. As a setter, I don't get this award unless the rest of the team is performing and they all did that the entire year. I'm so proud to be a part of this team and I understand that I couldn't have won any awards without them.”

“Alex really developed an understanding that there is more to being a setter than simply setting the ball in a match,” Waddington said. “She has become a complete player this year. She really worked hard leading up to the season to develop the rest of her game and became a tremendous all-around player. She's always been a great setter but this year she was a great player. That made a huge difference for our team.”

Huth continued her evolution into one of the most feared players in the nation with a tremendous junior season. The Colony native had 387 kills this season and finished the year with a .355 hitting percentage. She also led the Belles with 131 blocks and was named to the NCAA DII South Central All-Tournament team, the AVCA South Central All-Region Team, to the LSC first-team and was a two-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week. She will enter her senior season next year with 757 career kills and 272 blocks.

“It's really rewarding because we all worked extremely hard this season as a team and as individuals,” Huth said. “We were all out there trying our best to improve to make this a great season and it paid off. It's a very humbling award.”

“Maddie is very explosive and sees the court so well that she's almost impossible to stop,” Waddington said. “Her arm swing is so fast and she has really developed into a go-to player for our team. When it matters the most, we want her to have the ball. She came through for us a million times it seems like with a huge block or a kill. She has put a lot of work into this and it shows.”

Goode led the Belles this season with 448 kills and added 69 blocks. The junior from Georgetown transferred into Angelo State this year after playing two seasons at the University of Alabama and provided the Belles with an offensive threat that stifled opponents throughout the year. Goode was named the LSC's Newcomer of the Year, to the AVCA South Central All-Region Team, to the NCAA DII South Central All-Tournament team and was a three-time LSC Offensive Player of the Week selection.

“It really never crossed my mind that being named an All-American was going to happen,” Goode said. “It's a really cool thing to happen. This year was everything that I wanted when I decided to transfer here. I told coach that I wanted to win and that's exactly what we did. I guess the individual recognition is an added bonus that just comes with it.”

“Shelbi lived up to the hype which isn't always an easy thing to do even when you have the type of talent she has,” Waddington said. “We expected her to make a major contribution right away and she did it. She fit in perfectly with our team on and off the court and it made a huge difference for us. She made our team better from the first day she was here. She wanted our team to be great and she did that.”

Click for AVCA Release

The 2012 All-America selections were made by the AVCA Division II All-America Committee: Shelton Collier, Wingate University, chairperson; Mario Andaya, Central Washington University; Laurie Lokash, Slippery Rock University; Debbie Hendricks, Metro State University; Gail Wasmus. NY Institute of Technology; Wick Colchagoff, Findlay University; Ashley Buckley, Augustana College; Steve Wilcosky, Nova Southeastern; Will Condon, Armstrong Atlantic State University.