2008 All-PSAC Volleyball Teams (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. - Lock Haven middle blocker Stacey Borgia is the PSAC East Athlete of the Year while California (Pa.) middle hitter Ludmila Amaral has been named the PSAC West Athlete of the Year. Both standouts headline the 2008 All-PSAC East and West volleyball teams as both received the most votes of all players on the Eastern and Western Division ballots.
PSAC East champion Lock Haven swept the Eastern Division awards in their first season as a member of the PSAC East after moving over from the PSAC West for volleyball this year. Borgia’s teammate Haley Gribler was named the PSAC East Freshman of the Year while Lock Haven head coach Tom Justice is this year’s PSAC East Coach of the Year. PSAC West and tournament champion California (Pa.) led the way for all teams with six all-conference selections but two individuals from other teams claimed the other awards. Edinboro’s Gina Boothe was named the PSAC West Freshman of the Year while Mercyhurst coach Ryan Patton was named the PSAC West Coach of the Year. All three individuals will lead their teams in to the NCAA Tournament this weekend.
While Cal led all team in the entire conference in overall selections with six, the Vulcans also had the most first team selections in the West with four. Amaral was joined by teammates Renata da Silva, Thais Franca, Joanna Nist on the first team. Bridget Bielich and Marta Hodge were Cal’s representatives on the second team. No other team in the West had more than two all-conference selections. Lock Haven led the way with four first team selections in the East, as Borgia was joined on the first team by Fabiana Gomez, Christie Naumann and Juliana Nascimento. Overall, the Bald Eagles were tied with West Chester and Shippensburg for the most selections on both team in the East, as the Golden Rams and Red Raiders each had four honorees apiece. West Chester placed two on the first team in Michelle Powers and Lisa Yeasted, and two on the second team in Lacie Becher and Megan Musselman. Shippensburg’s Maureen DuVall rounded out the first team while teammates Kali Antolik, Kelsi Hoffman and Colleen Toomey gave Ship the most second team selections.
West Chester’s Lisa Yeasted is now a four-time All-PSAC East selection, including three times on the first team and once on the second team. Anastasia Urbanik of Slippery Rock can also claim the same, as she is also now a four-time All-PSAC West selection, with three times on the first team, including this year, and once on the second team.
Borgia helped lead the Bald Eagles to a perfect 12-0 mark in the PSAC East and a 27-5 mark so far this season entering the NCAA Tournament. She has helped Lock Haven lead the league this year in hitting percentage at .326, and individually leads the PSAC in hitting percentage at .482, a full 51 points higher than the player in second place. She also co-leads the league in kills per game at 3.67. A three-time All-PSAC selection, she was a member of the PSAC West first team last year and the second team two years ago.
Amaral led Cal to an equally perfect 12-0 mark in the PSAC West as well as a 37-1 overall record so far this year as the Vulcans enter the NCAA Tournament as the top seed and host in the region. She has helped Cal rank just behind Lock Haven and second in the conference in hitting percentage at .292 while helping the Vulcans lead in kill (13.69 pg) and blocks (2.14 pg). Individually, she ranks second in the conference in hitting percentage at .431 while leading in total kills with 466, and is tied for first in kills per game with 3.67.
Griber has proven to be a valuable addition to Lock Haven this year as she has added to the Bald Eagles already-loaded starting lineup full of big hitters. She ranked third on the team and ninth in the PSAC in hitting percentage at .307 and her 43 blocks rank her third on the team. She is the only freshman to be honored out of the PSAC East this year as the division’s Freshman of the Year, as no freshman were named to either the first or second teams.
Boothe was one of two freshman on the All-PSAC West teams, as she and Cal freshman Bridget Bielich were on the second team. It was Boothe, however, who narrowly beat out Bielich in the voting for the division’s Freshman of the Year honor. Boothe was third on Edinboro in kills per game at 2.64 and hit a respectable .268 in her first year on collegiate volleyball court. She also contributed to the team with 42 blocks, also third on the team.
This marks the third time that Lock Haven’s Justice has been named a PSAC Coach of the Year, but the first since 1999. He was previously the PSAC West Coach of the Year in 1996, 1998 and 1999, and this year garners his first PSAC East Coach of the Year award. He has led the Bald Eagles to an 18-win improvement over last year, when Lock Haven finished just 10-18 and 3-7 in the PSAC West. This Bald Eagles are 28-5 so far this year, won the PSAC East, appeared in the PSAC Tournament championship game, and will enter the upcoming NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the region.
Patton is awarded the PSAC West Coach of the Year in Mercyhurst’s first year in the conference. After the Lakers went just 4-13 in their final year in the GLIAC last year, and 18-14 overall, Patton led Mercyhurst to a 21-14 overall mark and a 6-6 record in the PSAC West this year and into the semifinals of the PSAC Tournament as the Lakers upset second-place Edinboro in the quarterfinals. The Lakers were also awarded an NCAA Tournament berth, where they will take on Lock Haven this weekend.
2008 All-PSAC East Volleyball Team
First Team
Stacey Borgia (MB)*^ Lock Haven Sr. Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail
Maureen DuVall (S)* Shippensburg Sr. Poolesville, Md./Poolesville
Fabiana Gomez (S)^ Lock Haven Jr. Montevideo, Uruguay/Consejo de ES
Christie Naumann (OH) Lock Haven Jr. Charters Towers, Australia/Gladstone
Juliana Nascimento (Opp) Lock Haven Sr. Guarulhos, Brazil/Seward County CC
Michelle Powers (MH)^ West Chester So. Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley
Lisa Yeasted (S)^** West Chester Sr. West Lawn, Pa./Holy Name
Second Team
Kali Antolik (MB)* Shippensburg Jr. Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop
Lacie Becher (MH) West Chester So. Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove
Kelsi Hoffman (Lib) Shippensburg Sr. York, Pa./West York
Caitlin Kuhn (tie) (MB)^ East Stroudsburg Sr. Jim Thorpe, Pa./Marian Catholic
Katie Miller (tie) (Opp)^ Kutztown Jr. Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown
Megan Musselman (OH) West Chester Sr. Littlestown, Pa./Littlestown
Alyson Stark (OH) East Stroudsburg So. Churchville, Pa./Council Rock South
Colleen Toomey (OH)* Shippensburg Jr. Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg
PSAC East Athlete of the Year
Stacey Borgia Lock Haven Sr. Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail
PSAC East Freshman of the Year
Haley Gribler Lock Haven Fr. Powell, Ohio/Olentangy-Liberty
PSAC East Coach of the Year
Tom Justice Lock Haven
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection
2008 All-PSAC West Volleyball Team
First Team
Ludmila Amaral (MH) California (Pa.) Jr. Sao Paulo, Brazil/Afonso Schimidt
Renata da Silva (S)*^ California (Pa.) Jr. Sao Paulo, Brazil/Colegio Ateneu
Thais Franca (MH/RS) California (Pa.) Sr. Sao Paulo, Brazil/Padre Manoel De Paiva
Jenna Matson (OH) Mercyhurst Sr. Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland
Joanna Nist (OH)* California (Pa.) Jr. Rockwood, Pa./Rockwood
Anastasia Urbanik (Opp)^** Slippery Rock Sr. Otsego, Mich./Otsego
Olivia Williams (MH) Edinboro Jr. Barberton, Ohio/Barberton
Second Team
Nicole Andrusz (MH) Clarion So. Lockport, N.Y./Starpoint
Jen Blasko (OH)^^ Slippery Rock Sr. Summit Hill, Pa./Marian Catholic
Bridget Bielich (MH) California (Pa.) Fr. Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park
Gina Boothe (OH/Opp) Edinboro Fr. Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson
Erin English (MH) Mercyhurst So. Brooklin, Ontario/Donald A. Wilson
Marta Hodge (Lib) California (Pa.) Jr. Fayetteville, Pa./Chambersburg
Tessa Siewert (MB) IUP So. York, Pa./Central York
PSAC West Athlete of the Year
Ludmila Amaral California (Pa.) Jr. Sao Paulo, Brazil/Afonso Schimidt
PSAC West Freshman of the Year
Gina Boothe Edinboro Fr. Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson
PSAC West Coach of the Year
Ryan Patton Mercyhurst
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection