Five Horizon League Volleyball Players Earn All-Region Honors
Dec. 8, 2004
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Five Horizon League volleyball players have earned all-region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association, the organization has announced. Areal Bienemy of Butler University, Jamie Bouyer of Cleveland State University, Karen Fruit of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Lauren Holbrook of Loyola University Chicago were named to the All-Midwest Region team, and Nichol Amberg of Loyola received honorable mention.
Bienemy and Holbrook garnered AVCA all-region team accolades for the third time in their careers, while Bouyer and Fruit are first-time honorees. The four are now eligible for the AVCA All-America Team. All five were named to the 12-member All-Horizon League Team last month.
Bienemy, a senior middle blocker from Violet, La.., ranked third in the Horizon League in blocks (1.28 bpg), fifth in kills (3.89 kpg) and seventh in hitting percentage (.243) for Butler (18-10), which finished second in the League regular-season standings behind UW-Milwaukee. Last season, she earned All-America honorable mention from the AVCA.
Bouyer, a senior middle blocker from Bedford Heights, Ohio, led the League in both hitting percentage (.388) and blocks (1.45 bpg) as Cleveland State (15-13) posted its best conference finish (fourth) in school history. She helped the Vikings advance to the League tournament championship match for the first time before losing to Loyola in five games. Bouyer becomes the first all-region selection in the history of CSU volleyball.
Fruit, a senior outside hitter from Viola, Wis., was named the Horizon League Player of the Year after leading UW-Milwaukee (19-8) to the regular-season title and an 11-match winning streak to end the regular season. She topped the League in kills (5.17 kpg) and ranked third in service aces (0.45 apg) and ninth in digs (3.32 dpg). Fruit received all-region honorable mention a year ago.
Holbrook, a senior setter from Indianapolis, directed Loyola (22-9) to the Horizon League Tournament championship following a third-place regular-season finish. She led the League in assists (12.96 apg) and ranked eighth in digs (3.35 dpg). Late in the season, she became just the third Division I player in the rally-scoring era (2001-present) to record 5,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs.
Amberg, a senior outside hitter from Tulsa, Okla., was selected the Horizon League Championship Most Valuable Player after posting 30 kills and 16 digs against Cleveland State in the title match. She finished the season ranked third in the League in kills (4.24 kpg), sixth in digs (3.50 dpg) and 10th in service aces (0.35 apg).
As the Horizon League champion, Loyola represented the League in the NCAA Tournament, where the Ramblers lost at the University of Wisconsin in the first round last week.
