Photo by Bryce Hayes
SEGUIN, Texas — Texas Lutheran Volleyball racked up awards from the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) on Wednesday, highlighted by Phyllis Fowler as the league’s Coach of the Year and outside hitter Ava Search (Richmond/Needville) as the First Year Player of the Year. Additionally, the Bulldogs placed two players each on the All-SCAC First, Second, and Honorable Mention Teams.
Joining Search on the first team was junior transfer Kieryn Adams (Schulenburg/Schulenburg). Junior middle blockers Andie Lozano-Lomeli (Brownsville/Pace) and Briana Salvatierra-Moore (San Antonio/Antonian College Prep) earned a spot on the second team. Zaria Solis (Burnet/Burnet) and Ella Waterbury (Buda/Johnson) were named All-SCAC Honorable Mention.
Fowler was selected as the SCAC Coach of the Year by both the conference coaches and SIDs after leading the Bulldogs to their first SCAC regular season title with a 21-5 overall record and 13-0 mark in conference. A season after missing the conference tournament, the Bulldogs are the first SCAC team to go undefeated play since Trinity in 2022 (16-0). It’s the Bulldogs first unbeaten conference season since 2003 (19-0), coming in the American Southwest Conference (ASC) and is the only other undefeated conference season for the program since becoming an NCAA institution. It is the fourth time in her tenure that the Bulldogs have won 20+ games in a season.
Search established herself as one of the best six rotation players in the conference as an outside hitter in her first collegiate season, earning SCAC Player of the Week honors twice. Search leads all freshmen and is 13th overall in the West Region with 395 digs. Search also leads freshmen in the region in digs per set (4.11). While being celebrated for her digging, she has been all-around contributor for the Bulldogs with eight double-doubles, including three straight to end the regular season, with kills and digs. Search led TLU with 214 kills and 42 service aces during the 2026 regular season. She is the third Bulldog to be named SCAC Freshman/First Year Player of the Year, joining Shavonne Respondek (2021) and Hannah Mikelonis (2017).
Search and Adams are both first team All-SCAC honorees. Adams anchored Texas Lutheran’s back row defense that ranks second nationally in digs per set alongside Search. She tallied double-digit digs in 21 of the Bulldogs 26 games and also contributed at the service line with 24 aces. Adams finished third in the SCAC with 416 digs, averaging 4.47 digs per set.
After battling injuries last season, 2026 was a return to form for Lozano-Lomeli who earns the highest All-SCAC honor of her career as she excelled both offensively and defensively from the middle blocker position. She currently ranks sixth in the SCAC in hitting percentage (.263) while averaging a career-high 1.95 kills per set. She reached double-digit kills five times during the regular season and three of those occurrences came with better than .400 hitting. Defensively, she averaged 0.72 blocks per set, ranking sixth in the SCAC, while helping to hold opponents to a combined .107 hitting.
After a breakout season last year, Salvatierra-Moore earns her second straight All-SCAC honor as an integral part of the Bulldogs block. Salvatierra-Moore finished with 155 kills and a team-high 65 blocks.She reached double-digit kills six times during the regular season, earning her SCAC Offensive Player of the Week once. Defensively, she averaged 0.71 blocks per set, ranking seventh in the SCAC, while helping to hold opponents to a combined .107 hitting alongside Lozano-Lomeli.
Solis is a first-time All-SCAC honoree after a career-season that saw her average 2.25 kills and 0.62 blocks per set. Solis recorded double-digit kills ten times, including a season-high 16 against Dickinson College.
Waterbury, a two-time SCAC Setter of the Week, quickly established herself among one of the best in the conference in her first collegiate season. She ranks second in the SCAC with 5.36 assists per set while playing an integral role in the Bulldogs hitting .172 on the season. She contributed four double-doubles with assists and digs. Waterbury was second on the team with 26 aces and was seventh in the SCAC in aces per set (0.43).
The Bulldogs turn their attention to the 2026 SCAC Tournament which begins on Friday in Longview where they are the No. 1 overall seed. Texas Lutheran has earned a bye into the quarterfinal round and will play its first match Friday at 4 PM CT against Austin College or Concordia (TX), the tournament’s four and five seeds, depending on who advances in the first round. The tournament will air on FloCollege. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.
For more information on Texas Lutheran volleyball, follow the Bulldogs on Facebook (TLU Volleyball), X (Twitter) (@TLU_VB), and Instagram (@tlu_vb) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on X (Twitter), @tlu_athletics on Instagram, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).