2009 All-PSAC Volleyball Teams (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. - Freshman Gao Xuan of Lock Haven has been named both the PSAC East Athlete and Freshman of the Year while Lock Haven head coach Tom Justice is the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the second straight year, while California’s Joanna Nist became the second straight Vulcan to be named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year as she garners the award this year. Gannon took the other two awards in the West as freshman Morgan Reineke is the Freshman of the Year while head coach Matt Darling is the Coach of the Year. The award winners highlight the 2009 All-PSAC Volleyball teams.
A quartet of teams each led the way with four all-conference honorees each. Lock Haven and West Chester in the East and California and Gannon in the West each had four all-conference honorees. All four of Lock Haven’s honorees were named first team, led by the Player and Freshman of the Year in Gao Xuan, who was joined on the first team by Fabiana Gomez, last year’s PSAC East Freshman of the Year Haley Gribler and Christie Naumann. It marks the second straight year on the first team for Naumann, a senior, and the third career all-conference honor and second straight first team award for Gomez, also a senior. West Chester, which had the second-best overall record in the PSAC East, placed two players on the first team in junior Michelle Powers and sophomore Helen Fitzpatrick. It marks the second straight year on the first team and the third career all-conference honor for Powers, a former PSAC East Freshman of the Year. Teammates Lisa Campbell and Lexi Kegerise were named to the second team. The East first team was rounded out by Shippensburg’s Kali Antolik, who was named to the first team for the third straight year, and Hannah Sorber.
In the West, PSAC champion California led the way with three first team honorees, led by the Player of the Year in Nist. She was joined on the first team by Ludmila Amaral, last year’s PSAC West Athlete of the Year, and Renata da Silva, the only four-time All-PSAC selection on this year’s teams. da Silva is making her third straight appearance on the All-PSAC West first team. Bridget Bielich was named to the second team for the second straight year to round out the Vulcans’ representatives on the all-conference team. Gannon, which did not have any representatives on the all-conference team last year in its first year in the PSAC, had four this year, led by the Freshman of the Year Morgan Reineke on the first team. Sophomore Kara Cullen, senior Maire Prybyl and freshman Lauren Sazama were each named to the second team. Clarion’s Nicole Andrusz and Kellie Bartman and Edinboro’s Olivia Williams rounded out the first team. It is the second straight first team honor for Williams.
This year marks the first team in recorded PSAC volleyball history that a player has been named both an Athlete and a Freshman of the Year in the same season as Lock Haven’s Xuan claims both awards. She is the second straight Bald Eagle to claim both awards, after her teammate Gribler as the Freshman of the Year and former standout Stacey Borgia as the Athlete of the Year last year. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Xuan ranks second in the PSAC in hitting percentage at .374 and third in kills per set at 3.45, both of which are also tops on the Bald Eagles. Her efforts have helped Lock Haven compile the top team hitting percentage in the PSAC at .319, nearly 40 points higher than the team with the next-best hitting percentage. Xuan’s 400 overall kills are also third in the league.
Nist is the second straight Vulcan to be named the West’s Athlete of the Year after Amaral last year. In addition to helping lead the Vulcans to their third straight PSAC tournament championship, Nist leads the PSAC in kills, both overall and per game, entering the NCAA Tournament. Her 502 overall kills are nearly 100 more than the player with the next most, and her 3.86 kills per set are first by .40 of a kill.
Reineke, who was one of four freshmen honored on the all-conference teams this year, is Gannon’s first-ever West Freshman of the Year. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Reineke is second in the PSAC in average kills per set at 3.46, trailing only Nist. Her 377 total kills are also currently the fourth-most in the PSAC. Her efforts helped the Golden Knights post an overall nine-win improvement over last year, and a 10-win improvement in the PSAC over last year.
Justice is the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the second straight year after leading the Bald Eagles to their second straight East title after the Bald Eagles moved over to the Eastern Division last year from the Western Division. Overall, it is the fifth Coach of the Year award for his career, as he also earned the West Coach of the Year three times previously. Lock Haven also appeared in the PSAC championship match for the second straight year and will make their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament this year.
Darling earns the PSAC West Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after leading the Golden Knights to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1995. In doing so, he helped lead Gannon from a 13-14 overall record last year to a 22-9 overall mark entering the NCAA Tournament, an improvement of seven wins so far this year. After going 3-9 in league play last year, the Knights went 13-6 in league play this year and finished fourth in the PSAC West, qualifying for their first PSAC Tournament.
2009 All-PSAC East Volleyball Team
First Team#
Kali Antolik (MB)** Shippensburg Sr. Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop
Helen Fitzpatrick (S) West Chester So. Springfield, Pa./Merion Mercy Acad.
Fabiana Gomez (S)*^ Lock Haven Sr. Montevideo, Uruguay/Consejo de E.S.
Haley Gribler (OH) Lock Haven So. Powell, Ohio/Olentangy-Liberty
Christie Naumann (OH)* Lock Haven Sr. Charters Towers, Australia/Gladstone
Michelle Powers (MH)*^ West Chester Jr. Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley
Hannah Sorber (RS/MB) Shippensburg Sr. Noxen, Pa./Lake-Lehman
Gao Xuan (RS/Opp) Lock Haven Fr. Dong Ying, China/Zibo No. 10
Second Team#
Lisa Campbell (Lib) West Chester So. Wilmington, Del./Padua Acad.
Jamie Celia (Lib) Kutztown Jr. Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone
Lexi Kegerise (OH) West Chester Fr. Trappe, Pa./Perkiomen Valley
Katie Miller (RS)^^ Kutztown Sr. Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown
Meredith Sinback (S)^ Millersville Sr. Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury
Alyson Stark (OH)^ East Stroudsburg Jr. Churchville, Pa./Council Rock South
PSAC East Athlete of the Year
Gao Xuan Lock Haven Fr. Dong Ying, China/Zibo No. 10
PSAC East Freshman of the Year
Gao Xuan Lock Haven Fr. Dong Ying, China/Zibo No. 10
PSAC East Coach of the Year
Tom Justice Lock Haven
# Additional honorees on first team, fewer on second team due to tie
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection
2009 All-PSAC West Volleyball Team
First Team
Ludmila Amaral (MH)* California Sr. Sao Paulo, Brazil/Alfonso Schimidt
Nicole Andrusz (MH)^ Clarion Jr. Lockport, N.Y./Starpoint
Kellie Bartman (OH) Clarion So. New Eagle, Pa./Ringgold
Renata da Silva (S)**^ California Sr. Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Ateneu
Joanna Nist (OH)** California Sr. Rockwood, Pa./Rockwood
Morgan Reineke (OH) Gannon Fr. New Knoxville, Ohio/New Knoxville
Olivia Williams (MH)* Edinboro Sr. Barberton, Ohio/Barberton
Second Team
Bridget Bielich (RS/MH)^ California So. Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park
Jessica Bodkin (RS) IUP Jr. Newport Beach, Calif./Newport Harbor
Kara Cullen (MB) Gannon So. Marstons Mills, Mass./Barnstable
Amanda Gough (S) Clarion So. Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton
Emily Pany (Lib) IUP Jr. Coplay, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic
Maire Prybyl (S) Gannon Sr. Mars, Pa./North Catholic
Lauren Sazama (OH) Gannon Fr. St. Louis, Mo./Oakville
PSAC West Athlete of the Year
Joanna Nist California Sr. Rockwood, Pa./Rockwood
PSAC West Freshman of the Year
Morgan Reineke Gannon Fr. New Knoxville, Ohio/New Knoxville
PSAC West Coach of the Year
Matt Darling Gannon
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection