BRENTWOOD, Tenn. ? Jacksonville State’s Abbey Breit was selected as the 2007 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year as voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. Eastern Kentucky’s Brittany Nobilio was tabbed as the OVC Defensive Player of the Year while Tennessee Tech’s Leah Meffert was selected as the OVC Freshman of the Year. Southeast Missouri’s skipper Renata Nowacki was named the OVC Coach of the Year.
Breit, a 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter/middle blocker from Louisville, Ky, earned her third straight OVC Player of the Year honor to become the first volleyball player in league history to achieve that feat. A first team All-OVC pick, Breit leads the league with 4.69 kills and 5.46 points per game. She has registered double-doubles in all but two matches this season. Breit has produced nine 20-plus kill efforts while hitting the 20-dig mark four time this year. She finished the season with 415 digs to give her 4.03 per game. Breit is currently fourth on the league’s all-time kills list with 1,881 in her career.
Nobilio, a 5-foot-5 senior libero from Johnsburg, Ill., picks up her third OVC Defensive Player of the Year award after earning the honor in 2004 and 2005. The 2007 first team All-OVC selection ranks second in the league with 6.03 digs per outing while averaging 6.41 digs against league opponents. She hit the double-digit dig mark in all but two matches this season and reached 30-plus digs four times. Nobilio finished her career ranked third in the NCAA with a league-leading 2,454 career digs.
Meffert, a 5-foot-11 freshman outside hitter from Louisville, Ky., is the second Tennessee Tech player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year following Maggie Stearn in 1999. A 2007 All-OVC second team pick, Meffert has recorded 20 double-doubles this season. She’s registered 505 kills and 410 digs so far this year. Meffert, who was also selected to the All-Newcomer team, set a new league single-match attempt record with 100 attempts against Tennessee State.
Nowacki collects her first OVC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Redhawks to a share of its ninth league regular-season title. Southeast Missouri won 13 of its last 15 matches down the stretch to move into a three-way tie for first place. The Redhawks own a 20-11 overall record and a 15-5 OVC mark.
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
The 2007 All-OVC teams include four individuals who received postseason honors last year. Joining Breit and Nobilio on the first team are Jacksonville State senior Rebekah Nichols; Southeast Missouri sophomore Karleigh DeLong; Morehead State juniors Erin Peak and Katelyn Barbour; and Samford Sheriden Stanghor.
Nichols, a 6-foot-1 opposite side hitter from Oxford, Ala., earns her first All-OVC honor. She ranks among league leaders in hitting percentage (.294) and kills (3.59 kpg). Nichols has reached double-figures in kills in all but four matches this season, including hitting the 20-kill mark three times.
DeLong, a 5-foot-11 outside hitter from Corona, Calif., is making her first appearance on the All-OVC first team. She is sixth in the league with 3.74 kills per game while ranking fourth with 4.45 points per outing. DeLong has recorded 323 kills and 294 digs versus Conference opponents this season.
Peak, a 6-foot-2 middle hitter from Georgetown, Ind, makes her second appearance on the All-OVC squad moving up from the first team after earning second team honors in 2006. She is 10th in the Conference with a .269 hitting percentage. Peak has reached double-digits in kills in 23 matches while hitting the 10-plus dig mark 12 times this year.
Barbour, a 5-foot-9 setter from Florence, Ky., earned her first All-OVC first team honor after being selected to the second team last year. She ranks third in the OVC with 12.38 assists per game this year while averaging 12.99 assists against league opponents. Barbour has recorded 60 or more assists three times this year, including a season-best 68 versus West Virginia. She currently ranks eighth on the Conference’s all-time assist list with 3,790 in her career.
Stangohr, a 5-foot-10 middle blocker from Shawnee, Kan., is the first Bulldog to earn All-OVC first team honors. She is second in the Conference in blocks (1.36) while ranking third in hitting percentage (.326). Stangohr has hit the 10-plus block mark once this season, registering 10 blocks versus Murray State. She has notched 19 double-figure kill performances, including recording a season-high 19 kills twice in 2007.
Joining Meffert on the All-OVC second team from Tennessee Tech is sophomore libero/outside hitter Katie Kenline (Ossian, Ind.). Also making the squad are: Tennessee State senior middle blocker/outside hitter Endia Oliver (Milwaukee, Wis.) and senior outside hitter Kelly Davis (Farell, Pa.); Austin Peay senior outside hitter/middle hitter Dodi Szymska (Krakow, Poland); Murray State outside hitter Tara DeMage (Red Bud, Ill.); and Morehead State junior outside hitter Ashley Doscher (Frisco, Texas). Kenline ranks fourth in the Conference in digs (5.86 dpg) while Oliver leads league and ranks second in the nation with 1.79 blocks per game. Davis leads the Lady Tigers with 3.01 kills per game while Szymska is second in the OVC with 4.39 kills each time out. DeMage ranks among league leaders in service aces (0.41 sapg) and hitting percentage (.282) while Doscher is eighth in the Conference in kills (3.68) and fifth win points (4.32 ppg).
Along with Meffert earning All-Newcomer honors are: Southeast Missouri junior outside hitter Aubrey Dondlinger (Palos Heights, Ill.); Eastern Illinois freshman outside hitter Alex Zwettler (Fitchburg, Wis.); Morehead State outside hitter Kaitlin Craven (Louisville, Ky.); Tennessee State junior middle blocker/outside hitter Christian Lowe (San Antonio, Texas); Jacksonville State freshman setter Brooke Schumacher (Lake In The Hills, Ill.); and Samford freshman setter Hillary Fountain (Holland, Ohio). Dondlinger was second on the team with 3.37 kills per game while Zwettler ranked 10th in the OVC in kills (3.51 kpg). Craven was third on the squad in kills (3.12 kpg) while Lowe ranked 10th in league with 0.90 blocks per game. Schumacher registered 13.18 assists to ranked second in the OVC while Fountain dished out 12.19 assists per game to finish fifth in the league.
2007 All-Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Teams
(voted on by the league’s head volleyball coaches and sports information directors)
FIRST TEAM
Player, School Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown
Abbey Breit, Jacksonville State* MB/OH Sr. 5’10 Louisville, Kentucky
Karleigh DeLong, Southeast Missouri OH/RS So. 5’11 Corona, California
Rebekah Nichols, Jacksonville State OPP Sr. 6’1 Oxford, Alabama
Erin Peak, Morehead State# MH Jr. 6’2 Georgetown, Indiana
Brittany Nobilio, Eastern Kentucky* LIB Sr. 5’5 Johnsburg, Illinois
Sheriden Stangohr, Samford MB So. 5’10 Shawnee, Kansas
Katelyn Barbour, Morehead State# S Jr. 5’9 Florence, Kentucky
SECOND TEAM
Player, School Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown
Dodi Szymska, Austin Peay OH/MH Sr. 5’10 Krakow, Poland
Tara DeMage, Murray State OH Sr. 5’11 Red Bud, Illinois
Ashley Doscher, Morehead State OH Jr. 6’0 Frisco, Texas
Leah Meffert, Tennessee Tech OH Fr. 5’11 Louisville, Kentucky
Katie Kenline, Tennessee Tech LIB/OH So. 5’8 Ossian, Indiana
Endia Oliver, Tennessee State MB/OH Sr. 6’3 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Kelly Davis, Tennessee State OH Sr. 5’11 Farrell, Pennsylvania
OVC Player of the Year: Abbey Breit, Jacksonville State
OVC Freshman of the Year: Leah Meffert, Tennessee Tech
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Brittany Nobilio, Eastern Kentucky
OVC Coach of the Year: Renata Nowacki, Southeast Missouri
ALL-NEWCOMER
Player, School Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown
Leah Meffert, Tennessee Tech OH Fr. 5’11 Louisville, Kentucky
Aubrey Dondlinger, Southeast Missouri OH Jr. 5’11 Palos Heights, Illinois
Alex Zwettler, Eastern Illinois OH Fr. 5’10 Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Kaitlin Craven, Morehead State OH Fr. 5’10 Louisville, Kentucky
Christian Lowe, Tennessee State MB/OH Jr. 6’0 San Antonio, Texas
Brooke Schumacher, Jacksonville State S Fr. 5’7 Lake In The Hills, Illinois
Hillary Fountain, Samford S Fr. 5’8 Holland, Ohio
* - All-OVC First Team in 2006
# - All-OVC Second Team in 2006