Horizon League announces volleyball All-League teams and specialty award winners

Nov. 16, 2006

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Indianapolis, Ind. - Senior middle hitter Cheryl Hegemann from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was named the Horizon League Player of the Year by voting from the League's eight head coaches, announced Thursday, Nov. 16.  Hegemann led the Panthers at the net this season, averaging 3.60 kills per game, good for third in the League.  She also ranked second in the circuit in points per game with 4.57.  Hegemann was also named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week twice this season (Oct. 9 and Oct. 30).

Senior libero Ann Deelo of Loyola University Chicago was named the Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Horizon League with an average of 5.07 digs per game.  Deelo's 1,733 career digs puts her four behind the League's career digs leader Megan Knightly (Butler, 2002-05) and can eclipse that mark at the League Championship, which begins Friday (Nov. 17) in Dayton, Ohio.  She was named the Defensive Player of the Week three times this season (Sept. 4, Oct. 9 and Oct. 30).

Youngstown State University freshman middle hitter Ruth Boscaljon and Cleveland State University freshman opposite Beth Greulich share Newcomer of the Year honors after both proved themselves in League competition.  The pair posted efficient attack numbers this season, with Greulich leading the League at .367 and Boscaljon ranked third-best with a .296 rate.

UW-Milwaukee's Kathy Litzau earned Horizon League Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time in her 14-year career with the Panthers.  Litzau led the UWM team to a 13-1 League record and a top seed in the League Championship while claiming a fourth-straight regular-season title. 

UW-Milwaukee placed four players on the 2006 All-League team in Hegemann along with fellow seniors Melissa David and Sarah Moore, and junior Leanne Felsing.  Cleveland State and the University of Illinois at Chicago placed two players each on the team as Greulich and junior Mel Snyder represented the Vikings, while Flames' senior Ambria Springer and junior Katarina Nedeljkovic garnered the honors.  Senior Sarah Elmer was the lone representative from Loyola, while Wright State University senior Jenny Schultz, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay junior Betty Slinger and Youngstown State's Boscaljon rounded out the All-League team.

Boscaljon and Greulich headlined the 2006 All-Newcomer Team.  Freshmen Porshia Allen of Butler University, Liz Fazio of Cleveland State and Dana VanDiggelen of Loyola were also honorees along with junior transfer Amanda Kenny from UIC.

The 2006 Horizon League Championship will be held Nov. 17-19 at Wright State University's C.J. McLin Gymnasium.  The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, with the winner earning the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which will be begin Nov. 30 at campus sites. The 2006 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will take place at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska, on Dec. 14 and 16.

2006 Horizon League Volleyball Award Winners

Player of the Year

Cheryl Hegemann, UW-Milwaukee

Defensive Player of the Year

Ann Deelo, Loyola

Newcomers of the Year

Ruth Boscaljon, Youngstown State

Beth Greulich, Cleveland State

Coach of the Year

Kathy Litzau, UW-Milwaukee

All-League

Ruth Boscaljon, Youngstown State

Melissa David, UW-Milwaukee 

Sarah Elmer, Loyola

Leanne Felsing, UW-Milwaukee

Beth Greulich, Cleveland State

Cheryl Hegemann, UW-Milwaukee

Sarah Moore, UW-Milwaukee

Katarina Nedeljkovic, UIC

Jenny Schultz, Wright State

Betty Slinger, UW-Green Bay

Mel Snyder, Cleveland State

Ambria Springer, UIC

All-Newcomer

Porshia Allen, Butler

Ruth Boscaljon, Youngstown State

Liz Fazio, Cleveland State

Beth Greulich, Cleveland State

Amanda Kenny, UIC

Dana VanDiggelen, Loyola