Rice University Athletics
Four Owls Earn AVCA All-Midwest Region
12/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 9, 2009
Houston - Rice University volleyball placed a region-high four selections on the AVCA All-Midwest Region team. Meredith Schamun and Natalie Bogan are repeat selections from a year ago, while junior Tracey Lam and sophomore Ashleigh McCord earned all-region for the first time.
A senior middle blocker from Oakland, Calif., Natalie Bogan was named to the All-Conference USA First Team for the second straight year in leading the Owls with a .345 hitting percentage. The team's co-captain ranked second on the squad with 371 kills and 3.25 kills per set. Bogan concluded her career ranked seventh in school history with 1,326 kills. Meredith Schamun, a junior setter from Murrieta, Calif., led Conference USA in assists (11.95 assists per set; among the top 10 nation-wide) and she was named as Conference USA Championship MVP, Conference USA Co-Setter of the Year, and was also selected to the All-Conference USA First Team. Schamun's 1,374 assists in 2009 is the fifth-highest total at Rice.
Back-to-back Conference USA Libéro of the Year (2008, 2009) Tracey Lam is named to the AVCA All-Midwest Region team for the first time. In 2009, Lam led the league in digs per set with a remarkable 5.50 dps average, which ranked in the top 10 nationally. An All-C-USA First Team pick, Lam set a Rice record with 633 digs during the season, which is also the fifth-highest mark in C-USA history. The junior from San Francisco has 1,701 career digs that ranks seventh in C-USA.
Sophomore outside hitter Ashleigh McCord led the Owls in kills in 2009 in being selected to the AVCA All-Midwest Region team for the first time. McCord, from Wylie, Texas, pounded 408 kills for a 3.92 kills per set average. She was selected to the 2009 All-Conference USA First Team as well and in two seasons, she has accumulated 713 kills. McCord smacked a team season-high 24 kills as the Owls defeated Tulsa 3-1 in the C-USA title game.
Rice, under sixth-year head coach Genny Volpe, posted a 23-9 record and won its first-ever Conference USA Volleyball Championship. The Owls also played in the NCAA Championship for the second-consecutive year and third time overall.
AVCA All-Midwest Region
Natalie Bogan** Rice University MB Sr.
Stephanie Champine** Austin Peay State University OH Sr.
Visnja Djurdjevic Tulane University OH So.
Jennifer Eichler University of Tulsa RS/Opp. Sr.
Jordan Goad Cleveland State University S So.
Beth Greulich Cleveland State University RS/Opp. Sr.
Tyler Henderson University of Tulsa OH Fr.
Tracey Lam Rice University DS/Lib. Jr.
Rachel Lindelow Tulane University S Sr.
Ashleigh McCord Rice University OH So.
Dana Powell Southern Methodist University OH So.
Shaunda Sandifer Wright State University MB Jr.
Meredith Schamun** Rice University S Jr.
Jessica Wolfe Butler University OH Jr.
Region Freshman of the Year: Tyler Henderson, Tulsa, OH
Honorable Mention: Jessica Adams (Tulsa, DS/Lib., Fr.), Ruth Boscaljon (Youngstown State, MB, Sr.), Liz Fazio (Cleveland State, OH, Sr.), Kendra Kahanek (Southern Methodist, MB, Sr.), Ashley Mell (Southern Mississippi, OH, So.), Kelsea Seymour (Southern Mississippi, S, So.)
