Ana Mercado of Missouri Baptist Awarded 2006 AVCA NAIA Player of the Year^SM
 

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LEXINGTON, Ky (Dec. 12, 2006) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is pleased to announce Missouri Baptist senior outside hitter Ana Mercado as its 2006 NAIA National Player of the Year^SM.

Mercado, who is from Tepic, Mexico, helped lead Missouri Baptist to a 40-10 record this season and the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championships.

She is a two-time NAIA All-American and a two-time American Midwest Conference Player of the Year. She also earned the 2006 Region V Volleyball Player of the Year award and made the All-Tournament team at the NAIA Volleyball National Championships.

This season, Mercado led the conference with 1,046 kills and 177 service aces. For the season, she averaged 6.71 kills, 1.13 aces and 3.4 digs per game. In addition, at this year's NAIA National Tournament, she averaged over eight kills per game and 11 blocks.

The formal presentation of the 2006 AVCA NAIA National Player of the Year^SM will be made Dec. 15 in Omaha, Neb. at the AVCA All-America/Players of the Year Banquet^SM. The banquet, which will take place at the Qwest Center Omaha, is held in conjunction with the 2006 AVCA Annual Convention and NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball National Championships.