May 2, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M volleyball honored several of its players at its annual banquet, held this afternoon at The Zone at Kyle Field.
Aggie head coach Sarah Ammerman (Parker, Colo.) with the team's Most Valuable Player award. The senior captain and third-team All-American led A&M in kills and points per set while directing the Aggies to the 2009 NCAA Championship regional semifinals, a 20-11 record and a No. 21 ranking in the final American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.
Corbelli also presented the Best Defensive award to senior outside hitter Mary Batis. The San Antonio, Texas, native started every match during her career and led A&M in digs per set each of the last three seasons.
Associate Head Coach Jennifer Banse (San Antonio) and Kristen Schevikhoven (Centennial, Colo.) with Best Offensive Player honors. Banse, a right-side hitter and primary passer, was named honorable mention All-America, honorable mention all-region and first-team all-Big 12 after starting every match this season and leading A&M's outside hitters with a .272 hitting percentage.
Schevikhoven, a three-year starting setter ranked 20th in the nation in assists per set, directed an offense that led the nation in both kills and assists per set. Both Banse and Schevikhoven also were credited for A&M having the fewest reception errors in school history.
John Corbelli also present freshman Lindsey Miller (Katy, Texas) with the Most Improved Player award. A&M's first-ever representative on the Big 12 Conference All-Freshman Team, Miller started every match for the Aggies as a true freshman and led A&M starters and ranked eighth in the Big 12 with a .310 hitting percentage. In addition, she led Aggie starters with 0.82 blocks per set and was second on the team and ninth in the Big 12 with a .303 hitting percentage.
Senior setter Jola Kelner (Poland) and sophomore utility player Robyn Romansky. Although a reserve setter, Kelner motivated the team with her outstanding work ethic and her ability to run the team in clutch situations.
Black was A&M's libero as a freshman, but this past season the versatile athlete also saw action as outside hitter, defensive specialist and middle blocker. She played in 29 of 31 matches and made five starts. Black had the most impressive performance of her career in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Black started on the left side against No. 19 Arizona and responded with a career-high 17 kills. She also had 14 digs to post the first double-double of her career and helped lead the Aggies to an impressive 3-1 victory against the favored Wildcats.
Winners of the awards were determined based on a vote by both players and coaches.
2009 Texas A&M volleyball team award recipients:
MVP: Sarah Ammerman
Co-Best Offensive Players: Jennifer Banse, Kristen Schevikhoven
Best Defensive Player: Mary Batis
Co-Most Inspirational Players: Jola Kelner, Kelsey Black
Most Improved: Lindsey Miller
Highlights of the award recipients:
Sarah Ammerman, senior, outside hitter -- MVP
Ammerman capped her A&M career by being named third-team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She also received AVCA All-Central Region and All-Big 12 first team honors and was named to the NCAA Omaha Regional all-tournament team, in addition to numerous other accolades.
The 6-2 outside hitter posted double figures in kills in 24 of 30 matches in 2009, tallying 20 or more kills seven times, including her second 26-kill performance of the season in A&M's stunning 3-2 victory at No. 15 seed LSU in the NCAA second round. She led A&M and ranked second in the Big 12 and 25th in the nation with 4.31 kills per set for the season. Ammerman also led the Aggies and ranked second in the conference and 35th in the country with 4.70 points per set.
The four-year starter completed her illustrious Aggie career ranked third in the A&M career records in points (1708.5), fourth in kills (1,518) and tied for 14th in digs (1,009). She also became the 10th player in program history to reach the 1,000-milestone in both kills and digs.
Jennifer Banse, senior right-side hitter - Co- Best Offensive Player
Banse was named honorable mention All-America and first-team all-Big 12 after starting every match this season and leading A&M's outside hitters with a .272 hitting percentage. The right-side hitter ranked second on the team in both kills and points per set and ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 3.42 kills per set and seventh in the league with 3.78 points per set for the full season.
Banse hit a combined .325 and averaged 4.58 kills, 4.67 points and 2.92 digs per set during A&M's NCAA Sweet 16. She posted the first 20-plus kill performance of her career with 23 in the 3-1 first-round victory 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.
Banse, who had 12 kills in the season-ending NCAA regional semifinal match against No. 2 Texas, finished the season having recorded double figures in kills in 18 matches and in digs in 16 matches, second most on the team in each category.
Kristen Schevikhoven - Co-Best Offensive Player
A three-year starting setter, Schevikhoven ranked 20th in the nation in assists per set and directed an offense that led the nation in both kills and assists per set. She finishes her three-year career ranked fifth in the A&M all-time career records for total assists.
Mary Batis, senior, outside hitter - Best Defensive Plyer
Batis began the season by earning CVU National Player of the Week honors after being named MVP at the Texas A&M Invitational. She is fifth in the A&M career records for digs (1,366) and also ranks in the top 10 in the A&M career records for total points and kills. This season, she led the team in both digs (3.38) and aces (0.22) per set and was third on the team for both kills (2.96) and points (3.39) per set. It was the third consecutive year she led the team in digs per set.
Batis posted 20 or more digs three times and recorded 10 double-doubles in 2009. Batis' other honors include: All-Tournament team, Texas State CenturyTel Premier; Academic All-Big 12 second team; Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
Lindsey Miller, freshman, middle blocker -- Most Improved Player
Miller started every match for the Aggies as a true freshman and led A&M starters and ranked eighth in the Big 12 with a .310 hitting percentage. In addition, she led Aggie starters with 0.82 blocks per set and was second on the team and ninth in the Big 12 with a .303 hitting percentage.
Miller became A&M's first representative on the All-Freshman Team, which was formed in 2007. Miller also was named to the all-tournament team at the Texas State CenturyTel Premier.
Jola Kelner, senior setter -- Co- Inspirational Player of the Year
Kelner receives the Most Inspirational award for the second consecutive year. Always prepared to take the court and lead the team at a moment's notice, Kelner was the only setter to make the trip to Texas Tech, and in her only start of the season, she confidently took on the challenge and directed the Aggie offense to a season high .465 hitting percentage, which ranks ninth in the A&M all-time records. Her other most notable matches were coming off the bench to help the Aggies to crucial wins against Northern Iowa and LSU. Kelner was a member of the Academic All-Big 12 First Team. She played in 21 matches and 41 sets.
Kelsey Black, sophomore, outside hitter, middle blocker, defensive specialist, etc. -- Co- Inspirational Player of the Year
Black was A&M's libero as a freshman, but this past season the versatile athlete saw action as outside hitter, defensive specialist and middle blocker. She played in 29 of 31 matches and made five starts.
Black led the team in blocks in four matches, but she had her most impressive performance of her career in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Black started on the left side against No. 19 Arizona and responded with a career-high 17 kills. She also had 14 digs to post the first double-double of her career and helped lead the Aggies to an impressive 3-1 victory against the favored Wildcats.
Black finished the season averaging 1.35 kills per set while hitting .221. She also averaged 2.94 digs per set.