Thursday, December 10, 2009

MACON, Ga. - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its 2009 All-Region Teams for NCAA Division I volleyball. Lipscomb’s Alex Kelly and Stefine “Jake” Pease both earned the distinction for the South Regional squad. The honors mark the first time that an A-Sun school has placed two players on the AVCA South Region Team.

In three seasons, Kelly and Pease have racked up an overall record of 69-27 and a mark of 44-7 in Atlantic Sun Conference play. The two have also earned eight league “Player of the Week” awards, four First-Team All-Atlantic Sun honors, two A-Sun Championships, two Player of the Year trophies, one regular season conference crown and two tournament MVP selections, not to mention leading Lipscomb to two NCAA tournaments and three Atlantic Sun Volleyball Championship Finals.

2009 Preseason All-Conference Player of the Year Alex Kelly earned Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season, after finishing 38th in the NCAA in hitting percentage (.355), 21st in kills per set, 12th in points per set and led the A-Sun overall with 452 kills (4.35 per set), 527 points (5.07 per set), ranked second with a .355 hitting percentage and 10th in digs with 361 (3.47 per set). In A-Sun matches, the junior middle hitter finished first with 333.0 points (5.12 per set), a .360 hitting percentage and 281 kills (4.32 per set).

Kelly also earned First-Team All-Atlantic Sun honors, as well as three Atlantic Sun Player of the Week awards during the season (10/05, 10/12 and 11/09), to go along with two Top Performer selections from the Collegiate Volleyball Update. Also for the second consecutive season, the Kansas City, Mo. native owns the distinction as the only player in the conference to win the A-Sun Player of the Week award three times. Kelly joins Florida A&M’s Kim Funchess (1986-1988), Georgia State’s Sarah Jane Mungo (1989, 1991) and Georgia State’s Anna Popenko (2000, 2001) as just the fourth in A-Sun history to win multiple Player of the Year awards.

Junior setter Stefine “Jake” Pease quarterbacked the Lady Bisons to their success during the 2009 season. The Berryton, Kan. native collected two A-Sun Player of the Week Awards on Sept. 21 and Nov. 2 and led the A-Sun overall with 1227 assists (11.80 per set) and finished first in A-Sun matches with 770 assists (11.85 per set). Pease also ranked 10th in the NCAA in assists per set.

Pease won her second Tournament MVP at the 2009 championships to go along with the MVP title when the Lady Bisons won in 2007. Pease totaled 77 assists, 21 digs and hit at a .348 percentage in the two games. Pease won her second A-Sun Tournament MVP honor (2007) joining a select group three (UCF’s Tyra Harper, 1996-97 and Leyre Sante, 2001-02) as the only multiple-time MVP in league history. In 2007, Pease earned the AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.