SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 15, 2005) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
is proud to announce the 25th annual AVCA Division I All-America TeamsSM for
women's volleyball. The awards will be presented Dec. 16, 2005, at the AVCA
All-America/Players of the YearSM Banquet at the San Antonio Marriott
Rivercenter Hotel.
Each of the three AVCA All-America TeamsSM is comprised of 12
athletes. The AVCA National Player of the YearSM will be announced on Dec. 16 at
the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year BanquetSM.
Nebraska senior middle blocker Melissa Elmer and Penn State senior setter Sam
Tortorello return to the first team for a second time and now are three-time AVCA All-AmericansSM.
Arizona senior outside hitter Kim Glass, Southern California outside hitter
Bibiana Candelas and Hawai’i junior setter Kanoe Kamana’o earned their third
AVCA All-AmericaSM award.
The selections are made by the AVCA Division I All-America Committee: chair –Pi’i
Aiu, Colorado; John Dunning, Stanford; Laura Farina, Auburn, Burt Fuller, Utah
State; Barry Goldberg, American; Nancy Mueller, Illinois-Chicago; Jolene Nagel,
Duke; and Mark Rosen, Michigan. The AVCA Awards Chair is New Hampshire Head
Coach Jill Hirschinger.
2005 AVCA Division I Freshman of the YearSM: Nicole Fawcett (Penn State
University, Outside Hitter)
2005 AVCA Division I Player of the YearSM: Announced at AVCA All-America/Players
of the Year BanquetSM on Dec. 16, 2005
Jane Collymore, a 6-0 senior outside hitter for University of Florida, earned
her second AVCA All-America honor after leading the Gators to the NCAA Division
I Tournament regional final. She was named the SEC Most Valuable Player.
Collymore averaged 4.57 kills, 3.00 digs, 0.60 blocks and 0.48 aces per game.
Melissa Elmer, a 6-2 senior middle blocker for University of Nebraska, is a
three-time AVCA All-American. She leads the nation with a 2.18 block average and
is the all-time Big 12 and school block leader. Elmer averages 2.64 kills per
game with a .387 attack percentage.
Kim Glass, a 6-4 senior outside hitter for University of Arizona, led the Pac-10
in points and kills average with 6.30 points and 5.39 kills per game. She added
3.01 digs and 0.39 aces per game while hitting .263. Glass is a three-time AVCA
All-American and the Wildcats’ all-time career-kills leader.
Christina Houghtelling, a 6-2 junior right side/opposite hitter for University
of Nebraska, ranks among the Big 12 leaders in hitting percentage and kills per
game. She attacks at a .375 percentage with averages of 3.71 kills and 1.00
blocks per game. Houghtelling has hit .400 or better in 18 of 33 matches.
Lindsey Hunter, a 5-10 senior setter for University of Missouri, is a two-time AVCA All-America honoree as she led the Big 12 in assists for the fourth year.
She paced the Tigers to a .299 attack percentage while averaging 2.40 digs, 0.50
blocks and 0.94 kills. Hunter finished her career sixth all-time in NCAA
Division I in assist average.
Laura Jones, a 6-2 senior outside hitter for Texas A&M, is a two-time AVCA
All-American as she averaged a 2005 national-leading and school-record 6.09
kills per game. She broke the school single-season kill mark by 133 kills. Jones
completed her career with 33 Aggie school records.
Sarah Pavan, a 6-5 sophomore right side/opposite hitter for University of
Nebraska, is a two-time AVCA All-American and the 2005 Big 12 Player of the
Year. She has paced the Huskers with 3.78 kills and 1.26 blocks per game. Pavan
is hitting .351 and ranks among the Big 12 top 10 in five categories.
Cassie Perret, a 6-1 senior right side/opposite hitter for Santa Clara
University, was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year. She attacks
at a .370 percentage with averages of 3.22 kills, 0.82 blocks and 2.20 digs per
game. Perret has paced the Broncos to their first-ever NCAA Division I
Tournament semifinal appearance.
Kristin Richards, a 6-0 junior outside hitter for Stanford University, led the
Cardinal with 544 kills, sixth best in school history. She hit .272 for the
season with 28 double-digit kill matches, including a career-best 35 kills
versus Southern California. Richards averaged 4.90 kills per game for third-best
in the Pac-10.
Courtney Thompson, a 5-7 junior setter for University of Washington, has led the
Huskies to a national-leading .341 team attack percentage. She averages a
national-leading 14.83 assists per game. Thompson, a two-time AVCA All-American,
adds 2.44 digs and 0.59 blocks per game.
Sanja Tomasevic, a 6-1 senior outside hitter for University of Washington,
contributes 4.53 kills, 1.12 blocks, 2.68 digs and 0.32 aces per game. She hits
.360 for the NCAA Division I Tournament national semifinalist Huskies. Tomasevic,
a two-time AVCA All-American, has 1,000-career kills and digs.
Sam Tortorello, a 5-11 senior setter for Penn State, led the Nittany Lions to a
31-3 overall record and undefeated Big Ten season. She set Penn State to a .307
team attack percentage as she averaged 13.37 assists, 2.48 digs, 0.84 blocks and
1.03 kills per game. Tortorello is a three-time AVCA All-American with
6,085-career assists.
Foluke Akinradewo, a 6-3 freshman middle blocker for Stanford University, ranks
10th in the nation in attack percentage at .397. She averaged 3.92 kills and
1.09 blocks per game with double-digit kills in 26 matches. Akinradewo hit .400
or better in 15 matches, including a season-high .720 versus Utah State.
Kristen Andre, a 6-1 senior middle blocker for University of Tennessee, has
helped the Lady Vols to their first-ever national semifinal appearance. She
attacks at a .365 percentage with 3.52 kills per game, including 33 kills versus
Florida on Oct. 30. On defense, Andre provides 1.07 blocks per game.
Leticia Armstrong, a 6-1 middle blocker for University of Texas, averaged 1.36
blocks per game to lead the Longhorns into the NCAA Division I Tournament second
round. She finished the season hitting .356 with 3.19 kills per game. Armstrong
ranked among the top 10 in Big 12 matches in four different categories.
Lauren Brewster, a 6-3 senior middle blocker for University of Notre Dame, is a
two-time AVCA All-American. She hit .310 for the season with a team-leading 3.84
kills per game. Brewster helped the Fighting Irish reach the NCAA Division I
Tournament regional semifinals with 1.63 blocks per game.
Bibiana Candelas, a 6-5 senior outside hitter for University of Southern
California, averaged 4.91 kills, 1.17 digs and 0.91 blocks per game. She ranks
second in the Pac-10 in points average with 5.64 per game. Candelas, a
three-time AVCA All-American, posted a career-high 36 kills versus Stanford on
Nov. 26.
Nicole Fawcett, a 6-4 freshman outside hitter for Penn State, averaged 4.51
kills per game while hitting .309. She contributed 1.80 digs and 0.80 blocks per
game on defense. In her first postseason appearance, Fawcett, the 2005 AVCA
Division I National Freshman of the Year, set a NCAA Division
I Tournament record with a .889 attack percentage versus Long Island.
Jennifer Hoffman, a 6-1 senior middle blocker for University of Louisville,
charted a team-leading 1.63 blocks per game for eighth-best in NCAA Division I.
She added a national-best .445 attack percentage. Hoffman averaged 2.78 kills
per game as the Cardinals reached the Sweet 16.
Candace Lee, a 5-7 senior libero for University of Washington, averages 4.94
digs per game in helping the Huskies hit .341 as a team. She has helped the
Washington defense limit opponents to a .133 team attack percentage. Lee ranks
second in the Pac-10 for career digs with 2,012.
Marisa Main, a 5-9 junior setter for The Ohio State University, averaged 12.43
assists, 1.96 kills, 2.34 digs and 0.63 blocks per game. She produced five
triple-doubles this season with four coming in Big Ten action. Main, a two-time AVCA All-American, ranked second in Big Ten matches for attack percentage.
Victoria Prince, a 6-0 senior middle blocker for University of Hawai’i,
contributed a team-leading 1.56 blocks per game. She tallied a team-best .402
attack percentage with 3.26 kills per game. Prince, a two-time AVCA
All-American, contributed 0.39 aces per game for the Rainbow Wahine.
Lena Ustymenko, a 6-3 senior outside hitter for University of Louisville, helped
the Cardinals to the NCAA Division I regional semifinal round. She hit .335 with
5.30 kills, 2.74 digs and 0.56 blocks per game. Ustymenko was named the BIG EAST
Player of the Year and finished her career atop the Louisville kill chart.
Melissa Walbridge, a 6-3 sophomore middle blocker for Penn State, charted 1.48
blocks per game in her first collegiate season. She averaged 2.64 kills with a NCAA Division I sixth-best .413 attack percentage. Walbridge was selected to the
All-Big Ten Team and hit .449 in league matches.
Jennifer Abernathy, a 5-11 senior outside hitter for University of Arizona,
averaged 4.79 points and 4.07 kills for second-best on the team. She contributed
3.35 digs and 0.36 aces per game as she landed on the All-Pac 10 for the first
time. Abernathy posted 17 double-doubles this season.
Anna Cmaylo, a 6-4 sophomore middle blocker for Santa Clara University, averages
3.26 kills and 1.17 blocks per game. She attacks at a .370 clip for the Broncos.
Cmaylo has 19 double-digit kill matches in helping the Broncos to their
first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament semifinal appearance.
Kanoe Kamana’o, a 5-8 junior setter for University of Hawai’i, is a three-time
AVCA All-American as she set the Rainbow Wahine to a .280 attack percentage. She
averaged 13.85 assists, 1.02 blocks and 2.69 digs per game. Kamana’o helped
Hawai’i reach the NCAA Division I Tournament regional semifinals.
Bryn Kehoe, a 5-11 sophomore setter for Stanford University, averaged 13.14
assists per game. She ranked third in NCAA Division I in assist average before
suffering a broken hand forcing her to miss seven matches. Kehoe set the
Cardinal to a top-five national ranking for most of the year.
Brandy Magee, a 6-2 junior middle blocker for University of Texas, led the
Longhorns in attack percentage with a .377 mark. She averaged 3.24 kills and
1.10 blocks per game. Magee finished the Big 12 season ranked in four different
categories.
Crystal Matich, a 5-11 sophomore setter for Santa Clara University, has set the
Broncos to a .288 team attack percentage. She averages 13.98 assists, 1.82 digs,
0.42 aces and 0.94 kills per game. Matich directs an offense with five players
averaging over 2.80 kills per game.
Angie McGinnis, a 5-11 sophomore setter for University of Florida, set the
Gators to a .301 team attack percentage. She contributed 13.46 assists, 1.21
kills, 2.35 digs and 0.58 blocks per game. McGinnis hit .409 individually and
broke school setter records for kills and hitting efficiency in a season.
Nana Meriwether, a 6-1 junior middle blocker for UCLA, averages 1.73 blocks and
3.05 kills per game. She has attacked at a .380 percentage to lead the Bruins.
Meriwether contributed a school-record 17 blocks in an upset of Washington on
Nov. 12, one week after tallying 16 blocks versus Oregon.
Danielle Meyer, a 6-1 sophomore middle blocker for The Ohio State University,
averaged team-highs of 5.33 points, 4.49 kills and 1.01 blocks per game. She was
second on the team in digs per game at 2.42. Meyer produced double-digit kills
in 25 matches this season with 11 double-figure dig matches.
Christal Morrison, a 6-2 sophomore outside hitter for University of Washington,
provides the Huskies with 4.30 kills, 2.27 digs, 0.71 blocks and 0.52 aces per
game. She attacks at a .343 percentage. Morrison, a two-time AVCA All-American,
has 24 matches with at least 10 kills and eight double-doubles.
Jennifer Saleaumua, a 5-11 senior outside hitter for University of Nebraska, is
a two-time AVCA All-America selection and four-time All-Big 12 selection. She is
averaging 2.28 kills, 3.82 digs and 0.77 blocks per game. Saleaumua is one of
two players in school history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
Sheila Shaw, a 6-0 senior middle blocker for University of Wisconsin,
contributed a .325 attack percentage for the Badgers. She helped Wisconsin reach
the NCAA Division I Tournament regional final in 2005. Shaw averaged 2.91 kills,
1.49 blocks and 0.30 aces per game.
