Dec. 10, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman has been named to the 2009 Division I AVCA All-Central Region first team and senior right side hitter Jennifer Banse received honorable mention, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced.
"Both Ammerman and Banse have been starters all year and have been essential on our court and for our wins," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "They both have such huge responsibilities on the team, Sarah being an L1 and Jenny being a primary passer and starting on the right side all year. We've advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen so far, and both of them are huge reasons why we have made it. They have made essential contributions to our success during the entire season, and they are very deserving of the honor."
Ammerman, a 6-2 outside hitter from Parker, Colo., leads the Aggies and ranks second in the Big 12 and 28th in the nation with 4.28 kills per set. She also is third in the conference with 4.68 points per set. In Big 12 matches only, Ammerman ranked third in the league with 4.24 points per set and fourth with 4.6 points per set.
In the NCAA second-round victory against SEC champion and No. 15-seed LSU, Ammerman led A&M in kills for the 16th time this year and tied her season-high with 26 kills while hitting .396. It was her seventh 20-plus kill performance of the season. In addition, she jumped from sixth to fourth place in the A&M career records with 1,502.
Ammerman, who ranks third on the team with 2.97 digs per set and is tied with Banse with a team-best 12 double-double performances, also tallied her 1,000th career dig against the Tigers to become the 18th player in A&M history to reach the 1,000-dig milestone and only the 10th player in the history of the program to reach the 1,000 landmark in both career kills and digs.
Earlier this season, Ammerman was named MVP at the Texas State CenturyTel Premier and also was selected to Texas A&M Invitational all-tournament team after helping to lead the Aggies to the championship title in each event. In addition, she was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Volleyball first team.
Banse is second on the team in both kills and points per set and ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 3.40 kills per set and seventh with 3.77 points per set. An all-tournament selection in the season-opening Texas A&M Invitational, Banse has posted double figures in kills in 17 matches, including 13 of the last 18 matches. In addition, the 6-0 San Antonio native has posted double figures in digs in 16 matches this season, second most on the team.
Banse was named to the CVU.com "Top Performers" list earlier this week following back-to-back clutch performances in the Aggies' NCAA first and second-round victories against No. 19 Arizona and 18th-ranked LSU. Banse posted the first 20-plus kill performance of her career with 23 in the 3-1 win against Arizona and then reached the 20-kill mark in the ensuing match with 20 in the 3-2 upset of the Tigers. In addition, Banse hit .340 and .348 in the respective matches. She also had 20 digs against Arizona to post the first 20-20 performance of her career, as well as the only 20-20 match by an Aggie this season.
Both Ammerman and Banse receive region honors for the first time in their careers and will now be considered for All-America honors, which will be announced Dec. 16 at the NCAA Championship in Tampa Bay, Fla.
"The neatest thing is that these players will have an opportunity to be considered as All-Americans," Corbelli said. "I've been in the sport for 25 years and I know high-level volleyball players when I see them, and I think these two are in strong contention for getting that award as well, and it is exciting to see that it is a possibility."
A&M (20-10) returns to action Friday in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, taking on No. 2 seed Texas in the Omaha Regional semifinal. First serve is slated for 4:30 p.m. at the Qwest Center.
Live audio of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com.
The following is the complete All-Central Region Team:
Sarah Ammerman, Texas A&M, OH, Sr. **Sydney Anderson, Nebraska, S, Jr. Taylor Barnes, Baylor, S, Sr. Anna Breyfogle, Baylor, MB, Sr. **Kori Cooper, Nebraska, MB, Sr. Brooke Delano, Nebraska, MB, So. ***Ashley Engle, Texas, S/RS, Sr. **Juliann Faucette, Texas, OH, Jr. **Victoria Henson, Iowa State, OH, Jr. ****Destinee Hooker, Texas, OH, Sr. **Kaylee Manns, Iowa State, S, Sr. **Ashley Mass, Iowa State, DS/Lib., Jr. Bre Payton, Northern Iowa, S, So. **Emily Stockman, Wichita State, OH, Sr.
Region Freshman of the Year: Hanna Werth, Nebraska, OH
Honorable Mention: Jennifer Banse (Texas A&M, RS /Opp., Sr.), Ellie Blankenship (Northern Iowa, DS/Lib., Jr.), Suzy Boulavsky (Oklahoma, RS/Opp., So.), Chrissy Knuth (North Dakota State, MB, So.), Calli Norman (Missouri State, MB, So.), Hannah Werth (Nebraska, OH, Fr.)
• Denotes total number of years selected to AVCA Division I All-Region Team