ST. LOUIS – The No. 25 University of Missouri-St. Louis volleyball team had two players receive postseason accolades on Wednesday as rightside hitter Alayna Santel was named the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Midwest Region Freshman of the Year while setter Caitlin Bishop was selected to the AVCA All-Midwest Region first team and to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Midwest Region second team.

Santel, the Great Lakes Valley Conference Freshman of the Year and First Team All-GLVC selection, leads the Tritons with 3.59 kills and 4.12 points per set heading into Thursday's NCAA Tournament contest against Ferris State. She is ranked 10th in the GLVC in kills per set and total kills, 11th in points per set and 15th in total attacks and hitting percentage. Santel was named the GLVC's Offensive Player of the Week twice this season.

Bishop, a First Team All-GLVC selection, earns her second straight AVCA and D2CCA All-Region accolades after being named both First Teams last season. This season she leads the GLVC and is ranked in Division II with her 12.27 assists per set while her 1,264 total assists rank second in the conference and fifth nationally. Bishop surpassed the 4,000 assists for mark for her career and ranks second all-time in school history. She was named GLVC Setter of the Week seven times this season.

UMSL takes on top ranked and top seeded Ferris State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday (Dec. 5) at 3:30 p.m. (CST) at Bulldog Arena. This will be the fourth straight year the two teams have met in the regional tournament.