Srivastava headlines three All-SCIAC selection as Athlete of the Year

ORANGE, Calif. – Senior Sophie Srivastava made Chapman volleyball history, becoming the first player to be selected as the SCIAC Athlete of the Year. The SCIAC announced the All-SCIAC team on Monday with Srivastava headlining three Chapman selections. Senior Jessi Lumsden and junior Cat Helgeson both were also selected to the First Team.

Srivastava made Chapman history in her first hand full of matches with the first triple-double in Chapman history. Three seasons later, she has recorded 31 triple-doubles for kills, assists and digs – the most in the nation since the NCAA started tracking the statistic in 2014. As a setter and right side hitter, Srivastava has done it all for the Panthers this year with averages of 3.1 kills, 5.76 assists, 3.4 digs and 0.74 blocks per set.

This season, the Belmont, Calif. native has 10 triple-doubles with seven coming in SCIAC matches. During the SCIAC season, she ranks in the top-10 for digs, kills, assists and points while also ranking 14th in the hitting percentage and 12th in total blocks. She joins Hall of Famer Linda Ly '10 and recently announced Hall of Fame selection Jillian Felger-Mabee '09 as the only Panthers to win Player of the Year honors – both Ly and Felger won Player of the Year awards for the Association of DIII Independents before Chapman joined the SCIAC.

Lumsden recorded her 1,000th career kill in the final match of the regular season – achieving the benchmark in just three seasons. The Carlsbad, Calif. native made it 3-for-3 in landing All-SCIAC First Team honors, becoming the first Chapman player to earn the distinction three times. She led the SCIAC this season with 4.4 points per set while also leading with 4.09 kills pe set and ranking 12th with a .247 hitting percentage. She recorded double digit kills in 15 of 16 SCIAC matches this season and had over 20 kills three times. She also ranked 15th in digs per set.

Helgeson made the All-SCIAC First Team after surpassing 1,000 career digs in just her second season on the court. She was the Newcomer of the Year and a Second Team selection in 2019. The Panthers' libero ranked first overall with 322 digs in SCIAC matches this year and was a close second with 5.55 digs per set. She recorded 20-plus digs in half of the SCIAC matches this season and had 33 in a four-set match against Whittier.

The Panthers made the SCIAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and will take on Pomona-Pitzer on Thursday at 7 p.m. Chapman is the No. 3 seed in the tournament and Pomona-Pitzer is the No. 2 seed.

By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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