EAST PEORIA, Ill. - Lewis University senior attacker Elizabeth Hyland along with Bellarmine University senior libero Jordyn Kuchenbrod, McKendree University freshman attacker Hope Gramly and University of Illinois Springfield head coach Trey Salinas have earned major postseason honors for the 2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference Volleyball season, it was announced by the league office Thursday evening. Hyland was voted by the league coaches as GLVC Player of the Year, while the Knights' Kuchenbrod was picked as the Libero of the Year, the Bearcats' Gramly was Freshman of the Year, and the Prairie Stars' Salinas was recognized by his peers as Coach of the Year. In addition, a total of 29 standouts were named to the 2018 All-Conference Teams with 14 honored as GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship nominees. The annual awards were presented Thursday at a reception on the eve of the GLVC Volleyball Championship Tournament.
Hyland is the seventh Flyer to be named Player of the Year and second in three years, as Aly Schneider was selected in 2016. Hyland started all 30 matches for Lewis this season and racked up a team-high 392 kills, 3.60 kills per set, a .226 hitting percentage, 375 digs, 3.44 digs per set, 4.15 points per set and 0.53 blocks per set. In GLVC-only contests, the senior fared even better with 3.81 kills per set, 3.78 digs per set, and 4.27 points per set. Hyland's mark for Conference-only kills per set and points per set both rank fourth in the loop, while her career nears its end with regular season tri-champs Lewis ranked third in the Midwest Region and 23rd in the national poll. On Oct. 29, the senior collected her seventh career weekly award as the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week, while her efforts during the entire 2018 campaign earned her a spot on the All-GLVC First Team for the third year in a row.
Kuchenbrod, now a three-time All-GLVC first-team honoree, picks up the libero award for the third consecutive year. She is the first libero to win the honor three times during the award's six-year tenure, and she's also the only student-athlete to win any major award more than twice. The senior is Bellarmine's second Libero of the Year, as Jaclyn Ohlmann was chosen as the GLVC's first major award winner at the position in 2013, and is the sixth postseason honoree overall with the four others having been named Freshman of the Year (Abbie Oetting, 2017; Krista Gibson, 2010; Carrie Wentzel, 1997; Abbi Paine, 1996). Kuchenbrod was third in 18 GLVC matches for digs (69) and digs per set (6.10) but was tops in the loop for her performance in all 29 matches with 6.42 digs per set while second with 700 total digs and 0.35 service aces per set. The Louisville, Kentucky, native will conclude her career as the Conference record holder with 11 Defensive Player of the Week laurels, earning the last one on Oct. 15, but still has time to extend her NCAA D-II rank for all-time digs. Kuchenbrod sits sixth on that list and is the active career digs leader across all three Divisions with 2,904.
Gramly is McKendree's second newcomer to win the highest freshman honor, as Arela Williams was picked in 2014. The middle blocker/right side ranks 11th in the league for kills per game (3.05) and 12th in points per game (3.61) for GLVC-only matches. Overall, her 3.2 kills per set in all matches is 10th best in the loop for the season, while her 3.93 points per set ranks eighth. Moreover, Gramly's efforts helped her pick up recognition on the All-GLVC Second Team.
Salinas earns his first GLVC Coach of the Year acclaim after a vote of his peers and is the first Illinois Springfield mentor to be named as such. The fourth-year headman guided his Prairie Stars to their best season in that time with a 24-6 overall record and a 15-3 mark in GLVC contests to garner a share of the 2018 GLVC Regular Season title and the No. 3 seed in the GLVC Championship Tournament. The postseason berth is the second overall for UIS, as the program clinched its first bid just last season. Some notable wins this campaign included four over nationally recognized foes in then-No. 10 Drury Sept. 29, as well as teams also receiving votes just outside the top-25 poll at the time in University of Findlay and Ashland University, during the Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover event in mid-October. The Stars also topped Truman State University, which was receiving votes at the time of competition on Oct. 19. Additionally, the squad has set a number of Division II-era records for UIS, including a 13-match win streak earlier in the year. Salinas' program has, itself, been receiving votes just outside the AVCA top 25 for the past four weeks and sits fifth in the D-II regional rankings. In addition, he guided five standouts to All-GLVC distinction in senior attacker Alyssa Hasler, sophomore attacker Brianna Bush, junior attacker Allison Splitt, and senior setter Tiffany Wentworth, who all were first-team picks. Junior libero Jailyn Borum was the fifth, nabbing a spot on the Second Team.
Twenty-one other volleyball stars earned recognition from the GLVC coaches, as one 14-member All-Conference First Team and one 15-member Second Team - due to a tie - were also released on Thursday.
Of the 29 All-Conference selections, Illinois Springfield and Drury led the way with five representatives apiece, while the Prairie Stars had a league-high four first-team nods. Lewis followed with four honorees, putting two on each team, while Rockhurst University had three honorees, all on the First Team. The remaining picks that rounded out the teams came from Bellarmine, University of Indianapolis, McKendree, Missouri S&T, University of Missouri-St. Louis, and Truman State, all of which had two.
Joining Hyland, Kuchenbrod and the quartet of Prairie Stars on the First Team include Drury senior attackers Emmalee Chrest and Bentley Mara along with junior setter Kendra Sater, UIndy sophomore attacker Katie Furlong, Lewis senior setter Abby Becker, and Rockhurst junior attackers Karli Reichert and Alyssa Woodman as well as senior libero Kalie Arnold.
The league also recognized 14 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award nominees and one team award winner: Illinois Springfield. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
A complete list of the All-Conference Teams and major postseason award winners follows below.
2018 ALL-GLVC VOLLEYBALL POSTSEASON AWARDS
2018 GLVC Player of the Year: Elizabeth Hyland, Sr., Attacker, LEWIS
2018 GLVC Libero of the Year: Jordyn Kuchenbrod, Sr., BU
2018 GLVC Freshman of the Year: Hope Gramly, Attacker, MCK
2018 GLVC Coach of the Year: Trey Salinas, UIS
FIRST TEAM
Jordyn Kuchenbrod, Sr., Libero, BU
Emmalee Chrest, Sr., Attacker, DU
Bentley Mara, Sr., Attacker, DU
Kendra Sater, Jr., Setter, DU
Alyssa Hasler, Sr., Attacker, UIS
Brianna Bush, So., Attacker, UIS
Allison Splitt, Jr., Attacker., UIS
Tiffany Wentworth, Sr., Setter, UIS
Katie Furlong, So., Attacker, UINDY
Abby Becker, Sr., Setter, LEWIS
Elizabeth Hyland, Sr., Attacker, LEWIS
Kalie Arnold, Sr., Libero, RU
Karli Reichert, Jr., Attacker, RU
Alyssa Woodman, Jr., Attacker, RU
|
SECOND TEAM
Katie Adams, Sr., Attacker, BU
Taylor Forth, So., Attacker, DU
Bree Schmidt, Sr., Libero, DU
Jailyn Borum, Jr., Libero, UIS
Alyssa Spears, Jr., Setter, UINDY
Alexandra Preuss, Jr., Attacker, LEWIS
Caroline Stefanon, Jr., Attacker, LEWIS
Hope Gramly, Fr., Attacker, MCK
Morgan Melchert, Sr., Setter, MCK
Carlie Combs, Sr., Attacker, S&T
Emilee Schlader, Jr., Attacker., S&T
Selena Nolte, Jr., Attacker, UMSL
Kylie Rudsinski, Jr., Attacker, UMSL
Savvy Hughes, Sr., Setter, TSU
Ellie Kaat, So., Attacker, TSU
*Extra member due to tie |
2018 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP NOMINEES
Jacquie Hornung, BU
Bentley Mara, DU
Brianna Bush, UIS
Mary Grace Ertel, UINDY
Colleen Wilhelm, LEWIS
Taylor Luebbers, MU
Alex Tinnin, MCK
Ellen Schulz, S&T
Olivia Klank, UMSL
Marissa Gonzalez, QU
Kalie Arnold, RU
Erika Peoples, USI
Savvy Hughes, TS
Olivia Tolberd, WJC
2018 GLVC JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM AWARD
Illinois Springfield