After earning Heart of America Athletic Conference First Team honors, Jhessica Martins (Uberlandia, Brazil) and Eric Morrison-Smith (San Diego) were named the Peru State Bobcat Athletes of the Month for November. Athletic director Steve Schneider recently made the announcement.
A junior outside hitter, Martins helped lead the Bobcats to a 25-win season and along with teammate Shannon Liewer (Imperial) to become just the second and third volleyball players to earn first team honors in the Heart. In addition to being named to the first team, Martins was selected as the Heart’s Attacker of the Year.
At the time of the release of the all-conference honors, Martins was among the leaders in several categories in the regular season and conference play. Overall, she was sixth in hitting percentage at .293 (second in Heart at .345), sixth in kills per set at 3.1 (tied for second at 3.6), and ninth in total kills with 352 (first in Heart with 152). Martins added 112 digs and 34 blocks.
“Jhessica and Eric are deserving of their being named as the November Bobcat Athletes of the Month. Being named to the first team all-conference in their respective sports is an indication of the effort they put forth on the court or the field as the Heart is one of the toughest conferences in the NAIA,” stated athletic director Schneider.
