PLU Trio Earn AVCA All-America Honors
HANNA REPEATS ON VOLLEYBALL ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM: For the second straight year, outside hitter Beth Hanna (Clackamas, Ore. / Clackamas HS) has earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Third Team All-America honors. The All-America teams were announced today, Nov. 17. Hanna was the AVCA National Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-American in 2007 before earning AVCA Third Team All-America honors last year.
MORE ALL-AMERICANS: Beth Hanna wasn't the only PLU player to receive 2009 AVCA All-America recognition. Both Sarah Beaver (Gresham, Ore. / Gresham HS) and Kelcy Joynt (Wasilla, Alaska / Colony HS) were named to the AVCA Division III Honorable Mention All-America list.
2009 CAMPAIGN ENDS AGAINST LA VERNE: The 2009 Pacific Lutheran volleyball season came to an end last Thursday when the Lutes lost to La Verne at the NCAA Division III West Region tournament in Redlands, Calif. The Lutes fought their way through four sets, winning the first 25-23, and then losing the next three sets, 25-18, 27-25, 25-19. The third set proved to be a momentum shift in La Verne's direction when the Lutes were ahead, 24-22, and let the advantage slip away. La Verne lost in the regional championship to Colorado College, giving CC the opportunity to continue their season at the national championship tournament. Joynt, who missed the last two regional tournaments because of knee injuries, finished with 19 kills and a .261 attack percentage. Also finishing in double figures in kills were Kelsie Moore (Oregon City, Ore. / Oregon City HS) with 12, Erin Bremond (Mill Creek, Wash. / King's HS) with 11 and Amber Roberts (Tacoma, Wash. / Wilson HS) with 10. In addition, Roberts hit a solid .360 in the match. Sarah Beaver finished with 52 assists, Joynt led all players with 22 digs and Bremond finished with four block assists for PLU. After hitting .441 in the first set, the Lutes could not maintain that form and finished the match with a .203 attack percentage compared to La Verne's .244. Beaver was named to the West Region All-Tournament team.
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON: Despite falling in the West Region opener, the Lutes had another successful volleyball season. The Lutes captured their fifth NWC title in the past six years and maintained a flawless 16-0 record in conference. PLU closed its season with an overall record of 20-7. Junior outside hitter Beth Hanna, senior middle blocker Kelcy Joynt and junior setter Sarah Beaver all earned All-Northwest Conference First Team honors, while sophomore outside hitter Kelsie Moore was an All-NWC Second Team pick. Joynt was named NWC Player of the Year, ending the two-year reign of teammate Hanna. In addition, head coach Kevin Aoki earned NWC Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time.
ALL-REGION SELECTIONS: Several players received American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-West Region First Team honors, including Beth Hanna, Sarah Beaver and Kelcy Joynt. Kelsie Moore was named to the All-West Region honorable mention list. Hanna received all-region first team recognition for the third consecutive season after averaring a team-best 3.56 kills per set while hitting at a .217 clip for the Lutes. She finished second on the team during the season with 3.38 digs per set, and she also contributed 0.53 blocks per set. Joynt, who was named the 2009 Northwest Conference Player of the Year, came back from successive season-ending knee injuries to average 3.35 kills and 3.15 digs per set in 2009. Among the Lutes' top attacking players, she led the team with a .278 kill percentage, and she also paced the team with 26 service aces. Beaver, a junior setter, earned first team all-region recognition for the first time after making the honorable mention list in 2008. She finished the season with an average of 10.23 assists and 1.98 digs per set. Moore averaged 2.96 kills per set and hit .251 for the season. She also averaged 2.28 digs per set.
SENIOR MOMENTS: Pacific Lutheran will lose five seniors - Brenna Archibald (Seaside, Ore. / Seaside HS), Lauren Poole (Edmonds, Wash. / Kamiak HS), Anella Olbertz (Gig Harbor, Wash. / Peninsula HS), Karen Henjum (Reno, Nev. / Wooster HS) and Kelcy Joynt - from this year's squad. This senior class is the first in PLU volleyball history to win a conference title every year. During that four-year run the Lutes won 60 conference matches and lost just four, including a pair of unbeaten seasons (2007 and 2009).
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