CLINTON, Iowa— The Cal State San Marcos volleyball team had four players recognized to the A.I.I. All-Conference Team Thursday night at the A.I.I. Volleyball Tournament Banquet hosted by Ashford University. The Cougars are in Iowa looking for their third straight A.I.I. Conference title, and are the No.  1 seed heading into play this weekend.

Taylor DeGraaf received the award of A.I.I. Player of the Year, making it back-to-back conference MVP honors for the junior from Arcadia, Calif., and her third straight selection to the all-conference team. DeGraaf, an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention each of the last two years, led the A.I.I. in points/set (4.56), kills/set (4.15), and was second in hitting percentage (.222). A multi-dimensional athlete, she was also fifth in the conference in digs/set (3.33) and 19th in assists/set (.32).

Alyssa Foster, a junior from Portland, Ore., repeated as A.I.I. Setter of the Year after leading the conference in assists/set (9.81) and finishing seventh in service aces per set (.42). An efficient player, she had 47 aces and only 19 service errors, and also recorded 88 kills with a .330 hitting percentage. Like DeGraaf, Foster is a returning NAIA All-American honorable mention, and is making her third appearance on the A.I.I. All-Conference team.

Middle hitter Erin Talafus had the highest hitting percentage in the conference (.341) and finished second in blocks/set (.88), earning All-Conference honors as well. The junior from San Clemente, Calif. also was 12th in the A.I.I. with 1.83 kills per set.

Fellow middle hitter Markisha Henderson-Diaz capped off a strong freshman year with all-conference honors as well. The product of Oceanside, Calif. hit .242 and was 20th in the A.I.I. with 1.54 kills per set. She also was a force at the net with .67 blocks per set, ranking seventh in the conference.

Also recognized for a strong season was outside hitter Alyssa Hubbard, who missed a good portion of the season due to injury, but was named an A.I.I. Honorable Mention. Hubbard averaged 2.53 kills per set, which would have ranked fourth in the conference had she had enough games to qualify.

The Cougars kick off play in the A.I.I. Tournament Friday with Pool Play matchups against No. 6 seed Indiana Northwest and No. 3 Rochester. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the semifinals on Saturday.