Long Beach State University Athletics
Mackie, Okpala Cap Careers With All-America Honors
12/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Complete AVCA All-America Teams
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Seniors Bre Mackie and Chisom Okpala finished off their respective careers with All-America Honorable Mention from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The seniors were both previously named to the AVCA All-Region team and the All-Big West first team.
Bre Mackie becomes the 25th player in Long Beach State history to earn All-America honors while Okpala becomes the 19th 49er to earn multiple All-America honors.
Okpala led the Beach with 2.95 kills per set and a .377 hitting percentage. She concludes her Beach career with three All-Region nods as well as three All-Big West first team accolades. She hit at a career-best .432 clip in Big West matches to lead the conference and finished her career with a .349 hitting, which ranks seventh all-time at Long Beach State.
Mackie had a breakout year as a senior that was highlighted by AVCA National Player of the Week honors on Oct. 14. Mackie had 20 kills against Hawaii on .327 hitting against Hawaii to claim the award. For the season, Mackie averaged a career-best of 2.84 kills per set and hit at a career-best .303 clip. She also had career-highs with 1.12 blocks per set, 89 digs and 19 service aces. She ranked second on the team and fifth in the conference in blocking.
The senior duo led the Beach back to the NCAA Tournament after an undefeated Big West season - only the fifth in school history. LBSU finished the season with a 27-5 overall record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Four players from the Big West were awarded AVCA All-America Honorable Mention as the Beach Beach duo was joined by Hawaii's Olivia Magill and CSUN's Casey Hinger.
