Annville, PA – One day after
defeating Elizabethtown College in the Commonwealth Semifinals, Messiah College volleyball was honored on Saturday in the release of the conference awards. Seniors
Lauren Rees and
Lindsay King were joined by junior Jess Geib on First Team All-Commonwealth, with junior
Allison Hill being named Honorable Mention. Additionally, head coach
Judi Tobias was named the conference Coach of the Year for the second-straight season.
Lauren Rees' election is her fourth All-Commonwealth award in four years at Messiah, following last season's First Team honor and Second Team nods in her freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively. This year, Rees was arguably the best hitter in the conference, leading the Commonwealth with an impressive 4.41 kills per set average. Her 128 kills across nine league games were also first among all competitors.
This season, Rees also wrote herself into the Falcons' history books by
becoming Messiah's all-time leader in career kills. Additionally, Rees
set a new single-season kills record, breaking the mark of 408 kills set by Prisca Chase '02. Currently, Rees' kills per set average of 3.93 would shatter her single-season record of 3.57 established just last season.
For Jess Geib, this marks her third All-Commonwealth award following Second Team elections in 2010 and 2011. The
conference's Rookie of the Year in 2010, Geib was second in the Commonwealth with 295 assists across nine games played. Geib was also tenth in the league in hitting percentage (.256) and tied for seventh in service aces (15).
This season, Geib became just the third Messiah player ever to amass 1,000 assists in a single year, as her career total of 2,845 assists is nine assists shy of second all-time in Messiah history.
Linday King's First Team election is the first of her career following Second Team honors for the past two seasons. One of the conference's premier middle hitters, King was sixth in the Commonwealth with a 0.81 blocks per set average. This season, King has added to her record-numbers of blocks and block assists, as she is Messiah's career leader in both categories.
Allison Hill's Honorable Mention award is the first of her career. The Falcons' libero was seventh in the conference in digs per set (3.95).
For Tobias, the Coach of the Year award is the third of her career—and
second in as many years. One year after leading the Falcons to their first-ever appearance in the Commonwealth Championships, Tobias has done it again; No. 2 seed Messiah will face No. 1 seed Stevenson on Sunday, Nov. 4, in the conference finale at 2:00 p.m. The Falcons, 24-7 overall entering Sunday's match-up, went 8-1 in the Commonwealth's regular-season, with their only loss coming 3-1 to Stevenson.
This season marks the first-ever that Messiah has earned three First Team All-Commonwealth performers in the same season.
Junior setter Jessica Gieselman of Stevenson was named the Commonwealth Player of the Year, as she led the conference in both total assists and assists per set. Outside hitter Imani Hudson was named Rookie of the Year, as the Mustangs took home both POY and ROY awards in their first season in the Commonwealth.
Below is the complete list of All-Commonwealth performers.
Note: With the addition of Hood College and Stevenson University in 2012-13, the Commonwealth Conference has added an Honorable Mention team to the All-Conference awards. These are players who received more than one vote for a First or Second Team honor, but were not selected to either of those teams.
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First Team All-Commonwealth |
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L |
Samantha Perillo |
Stevenson |
SO |
Wilmington, DE / Wilmington Friends |
|
MH |
Lindsay Palm |
Elizabethtown |
SR |
Washington Crossing, PA / Council Rock North |
|
MH |
Lindsay King |
Messiah |
SR |
Atglen, PA / Lancaster Mennonite |
|
OH |
Lauren Rees |
Messiah |
SR |
Oakdale, NY / Connetquot |
|
S |
Kacey Musselman |
Lebanon Valley |
SO |
Norristown, PA / Archbishop Carroll |
|
S |
Jessica Geib |
Messiah |
JR |
Lititz, PA / Warwick |
|
S |
Jessica Gieselman |
Stevenson |
JR |
Westminster, MD / Winters Mill |
|
. |
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Second Team All-Commonwealth |
|
|
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|
L |
Meghan Spence |
Widener |
SR |
Havertown, PA / Haverford |
|
MH |
Kelci Scannapieco |
Elizabethtown |
SO |
York, PA / Eastern York |
|
MH |
Megan Miller |
Stevenson |
SO |
Middletown, DE / St. Georges Tech |
|
OH |
Christine Isenberg |
Stevenson |
JR |
Taneytown, MD / Francis Scott Key |
|
OH |
Imani Hudson |
Stevenson |
FR |
Burke, VA / Thomas Edison |
|
OH |
Angela DiMaria |
Widener |
SR |
Warrington, PA / Archbishop Wood |
|
S |
Maggie Greenberg |
Widener |
JR |
Meadowbrook, PA / Saint Basil |
|
. |
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Honorable Mention All-Commonwealth |
|
|
|
MH |
Jackie Oliva |
Lycoming |
SR |
Barnesville, PA / Mahoney Area |
|
MH |
Kristen Lubeski |
Stevenson |
SR |
Bishopville, MD / Stephen Decatur |
|
DS |
Carolyn Lukiewski |
Elizabethtown |
JR |
Allentown, PA / Emmaus |
|
L |
Allison Hill |
Messiah |
JR |
Woodbridge, VA / Woodbridge |
|
MH |
Alyssa Hoogendoorn |
Albright |
SR |
River Vale, NJ / Pascack Valley |
|
MH |
Bethany Richardson |
Lycoming |
FR |
York, PA / West York Area |
|
OH |
Holly Bubb |
Elizabethtown |
SR |
Hampstead, MD / North Carroll |
|
OH |
Avery Gabbard |
Stevenson |
SR |
Arnold, MD / Broadneck |
|
. |
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Player of the Year |
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|
S |
Jessica Gieselman |
Stevenson |
JR |
Westminster, MD / Winters Mill |
|
. |
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Rookie of the Year |
|
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|
|
OH |
Imani Hudson |
Stevenson |
FR |
Burke, VA / Thomas Edison |
|
. |
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Coach of the Year |
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|
Judi Tobias |
Messiah |
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