Female Volleyball Players Earn AVCA All-East Region Honors
TWO CAA VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS NAMED TO 2010 AVCA ALL-EAST REGION TEAM;
FOUR TABBED TO COBRA MAGAZINE ALL-REGION TEAMS
RICHMOND, Va. (Dec. 7, 2010) – Two CAA players were selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region Team as announced by the organization on Tuesday. Delaware’s Greta Gibboney received an outright nod to the team, while Northeastern’s Britney Brown earned an honorable mention selection. Four CAA players were also named to COBRA Magazine’s all-region teams on Dec. 2.
Gibboney receives her first AVCA all-region nod after completing a dominant year defensively for the Blue Hens. The Huntingdon, Pa., native was named the CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year and garnered First Team All-CAA accolades this season. She tallied 654 digs and averaged a league-leading 5.50 digs per frame while playing in all 119 sets for Delaware in 2010. Her digs-per-set average is the second best in school history. As of games through Dec. 5, the Hens’ libero ranked 14th nationally in digs per set, which is less than .44 digs per frame off the national leader. With her defensive prowess on full display, Gibboney helped the Hens capture their third CAA championship in four years in November and finish the year with an impressive 26-6 overall record after a trip to the NCAA Championship’s first round.
Brown earned an AVCA All-East Region Team honorable mention nod after wrapping up a stellar senior season with the Huskies. The Edwards, Colo., native was selected as CAA Volleyball Player of the Year after collecting 3.15 kills per set and dishing out 5.54 assists per frame in 2010, both of which ranked in the league’s top 10. Brown also notched seven triple-doubles and 18 double-doubles in 30 matches this season and led the Huskies to the CAA Tournament’s championship match, where edged by Delaware in a five-set barnburner.
The CAA also had four players named to COBRA Magazine’s all-region teams on Dec. 2. Delaware junior Kim Stewart was tabbed to the All-Northeast Region Team, while Georgia State redshirt junior Vineece Verdun earned a spot on the All-Southeast Region Team. VCU sophomore Jasmine Waters and William & Mary freshman were honorable mention selections to the All-East Region Team.
Stewart was third on the Blue Hens squad with 302 kills, 2.54 kills per set, 62 total blocks, and 3.11 points per game. The Kentwood, Mich., product also stood second on the team in digs (346), service aces (35) and digs per set (2.91). During her junior year, she was named to the Delaware Invitational All-Tournament Team, the Notre Dame/adidas Invitational All-Tournament Team and the Colonial Athletic Association All-Tournament Team, guiding the Hens to their third conference championship in four years.
Verdun led the CAA during the regular season with 372 kills, 3.38 kills per set, and 4.19 points per set. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich., native also finished fifth in blocks (112) and blocks per set (1.02) in 2010. Verdun helped lead Georgia State to a 14-14 record, including an 8-6 mark in conference play. The Panthers’ eight league wins marked the team’s most since 2005 and helped keep them in the running for the CAA Tournament until the final weekend of the regular season.
After a grueling nonconference schedule, VCU’s Waters hit her stride during conference play this season. The Landover, Md., native notched 1.23 blocks per set in league matches, fourth best in the CAA, and hit .339. On Sept. 25 against Hofstra, Waters recorded 13 total blocks. She logged at least four blocks in a match 10 times. Waters also delivered 10 kills and hit .769 with seven blocks in a pivotal conference victory at James Madison on Oct. 15 and would help lead the Rams to a CAA Tournament appearance.
Alasomuka was the Tribe's primary libero in 2010, and also saw action as an outside hitter. She was named to the CAA All-Rookie Team after collecting 350 digs, second-most all-time by a Tribe freshman. Her 3.72 digs-per-set average was the seventh-highest in school history. During the 14-match conference season, Alasomuka led the CAA with 0.36 aces per set and ranked fourth with 4.15 digs per set, all while playing as a defensive specialist for the first time in her career.
COBRA Magazine is the world’s first publication that celebrates and tells the stories of educated African American women who play volleyball. COBRA features some of the best volleyball players in the world. According to Rebel Life Media, the owner of COBRA Magazine, “due to economic challenges and social differences, black athletes often think that volleyball is not an option as a collegiate or professional sport. COBRA Magazine proves that black women have a place in the sport while they pursue higher education.” To view the latest issue (and all previous issues) of COBRA, visit here.
Clemson Volleyball Team Sandra Adeleye Named to AVCA All-Region Team
Adeleye named All-ACC, All-Region for second straight season.
Just a week after earning her second All-ACC career honor, Clemson sophomore middle hitter Sandra Adeleye has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region team for 2010. It is her second straight season earning the award, as she was named the East Region Freshman of the Year in 2009, along with nabbing a spot on the team.
Adeleye, a native of Katy, TX, is automatically an honorable mention All-American by the AVCA from her selection, and she is nominated for the AVCA’s three All-America teams, which are announced Dec. 14.
Adeleye is the first Tiger to garner all-region honors in each of her first two seasons since Jodi Steffes Welp, a 2009 Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame inductee and current assistant coach, was named to the team in all four years of her career (1998-01).
Adeleye ranked fourth in the conference with a 3.42 kills/set average and a 4.08 points/set average, and ranks fifth in the ACC in blocking at 1.09 per set. Adeleye had double-digit kills in 17 straight matches to close the season and in 28 of 31 matches overall. She posted a career-high nine blocks in three different matches as well.
She becomes the 38thAll-Region selection under Jolene Jordan Hoover in her 18 seasons.
Clemson finished the season at 18-13 overall and 9-11 in the ACC. It was the fifth straight season that the volleyball program has posted a winning record.
Nagel, Four Blue Devils Earn AVCA East Region Honors
December 7, 2010
DURHAM, N.C.– ACC Volleyball Player of the Year Kellie Catanach and fellow All-ACC selections Becci Burling, Christiana Gray and Amanda Robertson were all named to the AVCA All-East Region Team, and head coach Jolene Nagel was named the East Region Coach of the Year as announced on Tuesday by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Nagel and those four Blue Devils led Duke (26-6, 16-4 ACC) to the 2010 ACC Championship and to the NCAA Volleyball Championship Regional Semifinal round where Duke will face Missouri on Friday, December 10. The four all-region selections tie for the second most in school history, matching the total of the 1993 Duke volleyball team that advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
Nagel, in her 12th year at Duke, guided the Blue Devils to their sixth consecutive NCAA Volleyball Championship berth and the program’s third ACC Championship in the past five years. She and her staff of 12th-year associate head coach John Wasielewski, assistant coach Cristina Pintilie, director of operations Michelle Bruin and volunteer assistant coach Jim Freeman led Duke to its fifth consecutive 25-win season and first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance since 1994. Nagel and her staff were previously honored with the East Region Coach of the Year award in 2000 and 2006.
Catanach, who became Duke’s seventh ACC Player of the Year honoree, leads the ACC and ranks 22nd nationally with 11.25 assists per set. She doubles as one of Duke’s top defensive players, averaging 2.16 digs and 0.59 blocks for a defensive unit that is holding opponents to an ACC-low .168 hitting percentage. Catanach, a native of Tampa, Fla. (Plant), and a two-time all-region honoree, also recorded her 4,000th career assist in Duke’s last match – a 3-2 NCAA Second Round win over Ohio – and ranks third on Duke’s all-time assist list.
Burling, a senior co-captain along with Catanach, earned her first career All-East Region citation after leading Duke with 359 kills and 452.0 points through Saturday’s win over Ohio. The 6-1 native of Monument, Colo. (Lewis-Palmer), recorded her 1,000th career kill in 2010 and currently ranks 14th on Duke’s all-time kills list.
Gray, a 6-5 sophomore from Carmel, Ind. (Cathedral), had a breakout season in her second year and led the ACC with a .391 hitting percentage. Also Duke’s leading blocker with 116 stops this season, Gray averages 3.88 kills for every attack error for the best mark on the team. She hit a combined .343 in Duke’s last two NCAA Tournament wins.
Robertson, a 6-3 junior from Roxboro, N.C. (Person), has emerged as one of the top right side hitters in the ACC. A dual threat, Robertson has posted nine double-doubles while ranking eighth in the ACC with a .334 hitting percentage. She ranks third on the team with 331 kills, 286 digs and 57 blocks and at one point hit .286 or better in 10 consecutive matches.
Those four all-region selections, along with freshman libero Ali McCurdy and senior outside hitter Claire Smalzer, will lead Duke into its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1994 on Friday against Missouri. The match will start at 5 p.m. in State College, Pa.
-d-u-k-e-
Virginia Volleyball Player McKenzie Adams Tabbed East Region Volleyball Freshman of the Year
Adams Tabbed East Region Freshman of the Year
O’Shoney named honorable mention all-region
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Virginia freshman McKenzie Adams has been tabbed the 2010 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) East Region Freshman of the Year, as announced Tuesday. Adams becomes the program’s first-ever honoree as the region’s top rookie, while sophomore Jess O’Shoney was included as an honorable mention all-region selection.
Adams, the ACC Freshman of the Year, is the only rookie to be honored by the East Region, as the 14-member All-East Region team and six honorable mention selections are all at least sophomores.
The San Antonio, Texas native finished the year second on the team in kills, landing 264 – the ninth-best season total for a freshman in UVa history. She also holds Virginia’s freshman record for kills in a match, as she knocked down 29 in a five-set win over Clemson on Oct. 3.
For the season, Adams tallied six double-doubles and was twice named the ACC Freshman of the Week. She finished her rookie campaign hitting .198, while earning 172 digs, 11 aces and 67 blocks.
O’Shoney, from Austin, Texas, earned honorable mention All-East Region honors after leading the Cavaliers with a .338 attack percentage this season – the fourth-best clip in UVa history. O’Shoney knocked down 250 kills in 517 swings this year, while committing 75 errors. Her mark ranks fourth in the ACC, while she is also among the conference leaders in blocks per set – sitting eighth with an average of 1.06 per game.
The middle blocker had 10 double-digit kill performances this year and recorded her first collegiate double-double against George Washington, knocking down 18 kills to go with 12 blocks. Her 12 blocks in a single match ranks as the third-most in program history.
Djurdjevic Named to AVCA All-Region Team
Two Seminoles represented on East Region squad
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (seminoles.com) – Junior outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-East Region Team, announced today by the organization.
Accompanying Djurdjevic on the regional awards list is senior outside hitter Stephanie Neville, who was named to the All-East Region honorable mention list. Both student-athletes were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference Team two weeks ago.
Djurdjevic is now a two-time representative of the AVCA All-Region Team, making the All-Midwest Region Team as a sophomore at Tulane last season. She finished her junior year with 410 kills, the most at FSU since Mira Djuric’s 438 in 2007. Djurdjevic, a Zitiste, Serbia, native, also averaged 3.42 kills per set, totaled 357 digs and averaged nearly four points per set.
Djurdjevic finished the season with match highs of 25 kills (vs. Miami on Nov. 26), a .615 hitting percentage (at Houston on Sept. 3), 27.5 points (vs. Miami on Nov. 26) and four service aces (vs. Florida on Sept. 22). She posted a team-leading 15 double-doubles in 31 matches played this year.
Neville, from Cambridge, Ontario, finished with a career-high 310 kills and a .273 hitting percentage in 2010. In conference play, Neville averaged 2.32 kills per set, hit at a .267 clip and tallied 188 kills in 81 sets. She had eight matches in which she recorded at least 12 kills and finished with a .300 or better hitting percentage.
The energetic team leader came through in FSU’s opening round win over Georgia Southern at the NCAA Championship last weekend. Neville had 14 kills, a .419 hitting percentage and three blocks to carry the Seminoles.
Although her awards come at different schools, Djurdjevic joins five other Seminoles in becoming a multiple AVCA All-Region Team member. The program now boasts 22 all-region honorees, and three honorable mention members.
U. Miami Volleyball News: Gallagher and Carico Tabbed to AVCA All-Region Team
Gallagher and Carico Tabbed to AVCA All-Region Team
Gallagher earns first award; Carico collects third consecutive.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Miami volleyball juniors Lane Carico and Katie Gallagher have each been named to the 2010 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-East Region Team, announced Tues., Dec. 7, by the AVCA Office in Lexington, Ky.
For the second consecutive year, two Miami volleyball student-athletes are being tabbed All-East Region performers after helping the Hurricanes to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Since the return of the ‘Canes volleyball program in 2001, this marks the third time under head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch that multiple UM student-athletes are being recognized as All-East Region honorees.
Lane Carico is earning her third consecutive All-East Region award, in addition to already being a three-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection. A 5-11 outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, Calif., Carico finished the ACC regular season as the only player to register 400-plus kills and 400-plus digs. Her 471 kills (3.83 per set) currently ranks second in the league, while her team-leading 38 service aces (0.31 per set) places her third in the conference. She is also third in the league with 535.5 points.
From her hitter position on the court, she was second on the UM squad in digs with 454 (3.69 per set), while leading the ACC in double-doubles (25). She notched 16 kills and 14 digs while battling through illness in Miami’s NCAA Tournament match against the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. on Fri., Dec. 3.
As for Katie Gallagher, her first All-East Region selection comes in the wake of her first NCAA Tournament appearance – sitting out the latter-half of the 2009 campaign with an injury, missing last season’s Gainesville [Fla.] Regional match. On the year, Gallagher amassed 1,211 assists (10.72 per set), placing her fourth in the ACC in that department.
Gallagher, a 5-11 setter from Winter Park, Fla., ranks second all-time at UM for career assists, now holding 3,955 under her belt. Gallagher ended the year hitting at a .325 clip with 110 kills, adding 15 service aces and 298 digs (2.64 per set). At the net, she finished tied for third on the squad in blocks (53). Averaging over 1,000 assists per season thus far in her career, she needs just 982 assists next year to pass Jill Robinson (2003-06) for first place on the UM charts.
As a league, the ACC headlined all other conferences with 13 players selected to the All-East Region Team. Additionally, all 13 All-East Region selections were named to the All-ACC team last week.
Among the AVCA's eight regions, the ACC's 13 selections tied with the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Conferences for the top mark in Division I. The BIG EAST had 10 selections, while the Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences, along with Conference USA, had nine picks each.
For more information on the University of Miami volleyball team, please log on to HurricaneSports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes volleyball program.
You can keep up-to-date with all UM Athletics via twitter at Twitter.com/HurricaneSports. You can also become a fan of the ‘Canes on Facebook at Facebook.com/MiamiHurricanes.
