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Women's Volleyball
Seven Volleyball Panthers Pick Up MVC HonorsNov. 26, 2009 OMAHA, Neb. – University of Northern Iowa head volleyball coach Bobbi Petersen was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year and sophomore setter Bre Payton was tabbed MVC Player of the Year at the MVC Tournament awards banquet Thursday morning. Five other Panthers also picked up conference awards, including Amy Braun, who was named the Freshman of the Year. Shannon Aschoff, Ellie Blankenship and Michelle Burow were first-team all-conference selections, and Krista DeGeest was named to the all-freshman team. This is the second time Petersen has been named MVC Coach of the Year, also picking up the honor in 2006. With a 256-72 overall record, Petersen ranks as one of the top 10 winningest active coaches in the nation. This season she led UNI to its fifth undefeated conference season, winning the MVC regular-season title for the fourth time in Petersen’s tenure.
Payton is the only player in The Valley to notch a triple-double this season, and the Waterloo, Iowa native finished the season with six. She ranks second on the league in assists per set (10.46), fifth in hitting percentage (.317), ninth in aces per set (0.25) and 20th in digs per set (2.17). She holds a .385 set percentage, helping UNI to a league-best .268 attack percentage as a team. This is the first appearance on the first team for Payton, who was named to the all-freshman team a year ago. Braun is the only freshman in the MVC to rank in the top 15 in kills, digs, aces and points per set in MVC matches. She reached double-digit kills in 14 matches, 12 in MVC play. She has 10 kill-dig double-doubles on the season. Aschoff, a senior from Ankeney, Iowa, leads UNI with 3.52 kills per set in league play, ranking third in the MVC. She ranks fourth in the league in kills per set in conference action, averaging 3.87. Aschoff recorded double-digit kills in 19 matches, including 14 in MVC play. Aschoff hit over .300 in 10 matches this season and became the 20th player in Panther history to top 1,000 career kills. This is the first appearance for Aschoff on the all-conference team after earning a place on the second team in 2008. Burow leads UNI in hitting percentage, and her .352 attack percentage in conference games ranks third in The Valley. The Lincoln, Neb., native has a team-high 375.0 points on the season. She ranks second on the team with .88 blocks per set. This is the first appearance for Burow on the all-conference first team after earning all-freshman honors last season. Blankenship leads the league and ranks No. 3 in the nation with 5.90 digs per set. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native also ranks fourth in the league in aces with 21 (0.32/set). The junior libero already owns the UNI record for digs in a season, digs in a career and digs per set. Blankenship recorded 20 or more digs in 15 matches this season, including five matches with 30 or more digs, as just 13 of UNI’s matches went over the three-set mark. This is Blankenship’s first first-team selection. She was a second-team pick in 2008. DeGeest leads UNI in blocks per set, averaging 1.09 in all matches, which ranks fifth in the Valley. She also ranks seventh in the MVC in hitting percentage, attacking at a .293 clip, with fewer than two errors in 19 matches this season. DeGeest is the only Panther with more than 100 kills and 100 blocks in 2009. The Panthers return to action on Friday at 6 p.m. when they play the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between Creighton and Drake.
2009 MVC Volleyball Coach of the Year 2009 MVC Volleyball Player of the Year 2009 MVC Volleyball Defensive Player of the Year 2009 MVC Volleyball Libero of the Year 2009 MVC Volleyball Freshman of the Year 2009 MVC All-Conference First Team Name, School, Yr., Pos. 2009 MVC All-Conference Second Team
Name, School, Yr., Pos. Chelsea Lauersdorf, Drake, Sr., S Michelle Reidy, Drake, So., MB Emily Wandersee#, Evansville, Jr., MB Whitney Fromm, Indiana State, Sr., S Addie Foley, Missouri State, Sr., OH Kim Wadsworth, Wichita State, Sr., OH
2009 MVC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM Name, School, Pos. Megan Bober, Creighton, S
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