GREENWOOD – Lander outside hitter Melissa McCracken did not quite understand the magnitude of what she was hearing when she returned a phone call to Coach Carla Decker this week.
"Coach called me. I didn’t know why she was calling me," McCracken said. "I called her back and she said, ‘guess what?!’"
Coach Decker proceeded to tell McCracken that she had received the Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II National Player of the Week award.
What that meant didn’t sink in right away.
"I thought, ‘cool, what does this mean?’ I thought it was just for the region," McCracken said upon hearing the news on Tuesday. "I found out it was for all of Division II. It was amazing. I was shocked."
This is the first time in the 12-year history of the Lander volleyball program that a player has been selected as the AVCA National Player of the Week.
"I feel really privileged to have gotten it. I really can’t believe it," she said.
The 6-foot junior couldn’t wait to spread the news to her family back home in Illinois, and to her former coach at Illinois Central College where she was a National Junior College Athletic Association Second Team All-American.
"I e-mailed the link (from the Lander athletics web site) to my family and my old coach, Susan Sinclair. It’s been spreading back home," she said, with a smile.
Her Lander teammates were proud as well.
"When I walked into the gym, they all said, ‘oh, national player of the week!’ And they all started clapping. I kind of got embarrassed."
McCracken calls it a team award, giving much credit to setter Candace LaRocca and other teammates.
McCracken averaged 4.5 kills and 4.05 digs per set last week in helping lead Lander to a 4-1 slate. In the "Dig Pink" tournament, which was hosted by Lander, she opened with an impressive 32-kill, 15-dig performance in a five-set victory over Lees-McRae on Friday afternoon. The 32 kills were the most in a single game in the Peach Belt Conference this season.
She came back later that night and recorded 25 kills and 16 digs in a four-game win over Erskine. Often getting the last of three hits, McCracken knows the importance of teamwork.
"I couldn’t have done it without the serve receive, the perfect pass, and Candace giving me the perfect set for the easy kill," she said. "It’s all team effort. It should be everybody’s award."
On Saturday, she had seven kills and 12 digs in a 3-0 loss to No. 24-ranked Wingate, and concluded the tournament with 19 kills and 30 digs in a five-set win against Anderson University.
Earlier in the week, she recorded seven kills in 21 attacks and added eight digs in a three-game blowout against Queens University of Charlotte. During the week, she also contributed 11 blocks, four service aces and an assist.
On Monday, she became the first player this season to win back-to-back Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week honors. In PBC statistics, McCracken ranks second in kills (3.62 per set) and is 13th in hitting percentage (.216). For the season, she has 355 kills and 264 digs to go along with 41 blocks and 15 service aces.
LaRocca, who had a remarkable 50 assists during McCracken’s 32-kill effort, was beaming about the award.
"I am so proud of her. She really deserves it," LaRocca said. "She is probably the most humble person that I have ever met in my life. She is so talented. It’s just so fun to play with somebody who has such passion for the game. She is so great to play with."
The 32-kill night set the stage for McCracken’s honors in both the Peach Belt and nationally. It was one of those games that she will likely never forget.
"I don’t remember who I went up to, but I was like, ‘I don’t mean to sound conceited, but I felt like I had a lot of kills.’ I even had a couple of miss-hits and they dropped," McCracken said.
"What an accomplishment, especially for our school to have someone be a National Player of the Week," LaRocca said. "She deserves every bit of it."
LaRocca also stressed teamwork.
"It’s a team sport. I couldn’t get the sets up if I didn’t get the passes," LaRocca said. "We flow into one big motion. It’s a big deal for her to get it (the award). It is a team sport. But she finds the floor (with a kill). She does a great job."
LaRocca said it is McCracken’s desire to finish off a point that makes her a special player.
"She looks at me and says, ‘I want the ball.’ When a player looks at me as a setter saying, ‘I want the ball,’ that’s huge," LaRocca said. "I have total faith in her that she is going to find the floor for me."
McCracken enjoyed the experience in the "Dig Pink" Tournament. Dig Pink is part of the Side-Out Foundation, which raises money to help breast cancer patients. Donations were accepted. Most of the teams in the tournament wore pink and had already participated in activities to raise money for the cause.
"I loved having all four games on our home floor. It was so fun," McCracken said. "Everyone dressed in pink, raising money and playing volleyball. It was amazing."
