FRISCO, Texas – HCU junior right side Anna Gadway, graduate middle blocker Jada Allen and redshirt freshman setter Grace McLaughlin have been named to the Southland Conference All-Academic Teams, as voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic advisors and announced by the league office Thursday. Houston Christian University (HCU), formerly Houston Baptist University (HBU), underwent a name change in September 2022.
 
Gadway was a first-team all-academic selection with a 3.80 GPA as a nursing major. The Needville, Texas, native was a first-team all-conference pick, ranking seventh in the league with a .287 hitting percentage, sixth with 3.09 kills per set and seventh with 3.48 points per set, while adding 1.86 digs per set and 67 total blocks. Gadway posted double-digit kills 19 times, double-digit digs eight times and had five double-doubles. She hit .410 and had a season-high 19 kills with five digs and four blocks against UIW and had 17 kills and a season-high 16 digs against ULM.
 
McLaughlin was a second-team selection with a 3.71 GPA as a kinesiology major. In addition to earning the SLC Newcomer of the Year, McLaughlin was a second-team all-conference selection. The Lucas, Texas, McLaughlin ranked second in the league with 9.88 assists per set and averaged 10.36 in conference play, while also averaging 2.83 digs per set. The Lucas, Texas, native recorded 19 double-doubles and had 50 assists more five times. She had a career-high 62 assists and added 13 digs in a five-set win at Nicholls, had a career-high 19 digs to go along with 46 assists in a four-set win at Northwestern State and had 54 assists, 18 digs and four kills in a victory at Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
Allen was a second-team selection with a 3.40 GPA while earning her Master's in business administration, after finishing her undergraduate degree in marketing in Dec. 2021. The DeSoto, Texas, native was a second-team all-conference selection in 2020. This season, she started all 34 matches and played all 126 sets. Allen ranked fourth in the conference with a .310 hitting percentage, averaged 2.18 kills and 0.77 blocks per set. She totaled 247 kills and 87 blocks. Allen finished her career with 582 kills and 238 total blocks, which was one shy of HCU's all-time top 15, but seventh in the 25-point rally scoring era.
 
Gadway and McLaughlin made the College Sports Communicators All-District Team and are eligible for Academic All-American honors.