Tennessee Tech’s Leah Meffert was selected as the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year while teammate Katie Kenline earned Defensive Player of the Year honors as voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. Murray State’s Jade Guo was named Freshman of the Year while the Coach of the Year award went to Tennessee Tech’s John Blair.
Meffert, a sophomore outside hitter from Louisville, Ky., earned her first Player of the Year honor after being named the Freshman of the Year in 2007. She becomes the first OVC volleyball player to earn both the Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards in her career. The 2008 All-OVC first team selection ranked among league leaders in kills per set (3.15) and points (3.61). She has recorded a team-leading 309 kills so far this season, including 230 in league action. Meffert has produced 11 double-doubles this season, including four in her last six matches. She is just the third Tech player to receive this award.
A junior libero from Ossian, Ind., Kenline leads the league with 5.06 digs per set to rank in the nation’s top 20. She has reached double digits in digs in all but two matches this year, including 18 straight heading into the OVC Tournament. The 2008 All-OVC second team pick collected a career-high 41 digs at Morehead State on Oct. 4. Kenline’s 1,838 career digs tops the Tennessee Tech’s charts while also ranking eighth on the OVC list. She is the first Golden Eagle to win the award since it began in 2004.
Guo, a freshman setter from DaTong, China, is the second Murray State player to be named OVC Freshman of the Year following Nikki Wong in 2002. A 2008 All-OVC second team selection, Guo has dished out 996 assists so far this season. She has hit the 60-plus assist mark twice this year with a season-high 65 coming against Southeast Missouri on Oct. 28. Guo has also tallied 152 kills and 235 digs in 2008. She recorded a triple-double with 10 kills, 13 digs and 58 assists versus Austin Peay.
Blair collects his first OVC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Golden Eagles to a share of its fourth league regular-season title. Tennessee Tech won nine of its last 11 matches down the stretch to earn its first title since 1986 and the top seed in the Conference tournament. Tech owns a 17-11 overall record and a 14-4 OVC mark.
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
The 2008 All-OVC teams includes four individuals who received postseason honors last year. Joining Meffert on the first team are Tennessee Tech senior Kappy Lang; Austin Peay junior Stephanie Champine; Southeast Missouri senior Aubrey Dondlinger; Jacksonville State junior Brittney Whitten; Morehead State senior Ashley Doscher; and Tennessee State senior Candace Saleaumua.
Lang, a setter from Muncie, Ind., earns her first All-OVC honor. She ranks first in the league with 10.73 assists per game to go along with 261 digs. Lang has recorded 15 double-doubles this season, including four in her last five matches. She has hit the 50-plus assist mark five times this year.
An outside hitter from Lambertville, Mich., Champine makes her first appearance on the All-OVC team. She ranks among league leaders with 3.42 kills per set. Champine, who was also selected to the All-Newcomer team, finished the regular-season with 345 digs. She produced 17 double-doubles and hit the 20-kill mark twice.
Dondlinger, an outside hitter from Palos Heights, Ill., earns her first All-OVC first team honor after being named to the All-Newcomer team last season. She had reached double-digit kills 10 times this season, including in nine of her last 10 matches. She has also compiled 196 digs this season, hitting the 20-plus dig mark twice.
An outside hitter from Boonville, Ind., Whitten is making her first appearance on the All-OVC first team after earning All-Newcomer team honors in 2006. Whitten led the league with 3.91 kills per set while also ranking among Conference leaders with 4.05 digs per set. She has recorded 22 double-doubles this season, including a 20-20 effort against Austin Peay. She finished the season with 418 kills and 433 digs. She became the third player in Jacksonville State history to record over 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career.
Doscher, a outside hitter from Frisco, Texas, earns her second All-OVC honor after being named to the second team last year. She leads the team with 3.33 kills per set while chipping in 2.82 digs per set. She has reached double-digit kills in 21 matches while recording 10 or more digs 16 times.
A setter/utility player from National City, Calf., Saleaumua makes her first appearance on the All-OVC team. She recorded four triple-doubles this season with the last coming against Eastern Illinois on Oct. 11 when she posted 10 kills, 16 digs and 18 assists. Saleaumua reached double-digit digs in all but five matches this year. She finished the season with 254 kills, 294 assists and 354 digs.
Joining Kenline and Guo on the All-OVC second team are Morehead State senior middle blocker Erin Peak (Georgetown, Ind.) and senior setter Katelyn Barbour (Florence, Ky.); Southeast Missouri sophomore outside hitter Claire Keaton (St. Charles, Mo.); Murray State freshman outside hitter Logan Su (A La Shan Zuo Qi, China); and Tennessee Tech senior middle blocker Caitlin Bullock (Aubrey, Texas). Peak is sixth in the league with a .272 attack percentage while Barbour ranks among league leaders in assists (6.84). Keaton is seventh in the OVC in kills (3.27) as Su leads the Racers with 2.75 kills per set. Bullock ranks in the league’s top 10 with 76 blocks this season.
Along with Champine, Guo and Su earning All-Newcomer honors are Eastern Kentucky junior outside hitter Lindsey Loescher (Crystal Lake, Ill.); Murray State freshman libero Kayleah Sauer (Louisville, Ky.); Morehead State redshirt freshman Emma Keough (Batavia, Ohio); and freshman defensive specialist Lauren Harkins (Louisville, Ky.) Loescher ranks second in the league with 3.67 kills per set while Sauer is sixth with 4.37 digs per set. Keough lead the Conference with 108 blocks as Harkins recorded 4.50 digs per set to rank fifth in the league.
2008 All-Ohio Valley Conference Volleyball Teams
(voted on by the league’s head volleyball coaches and sports information directors)
FIRST TEAM
Player, School Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown
Leah Meffert, Tennessee Tech# OH So. 5’11 Louisville, Ky.
Stephanie Champine, Austin Peay OH Jr. 5’10 Lambertville, Mich.
Aubrey Dondlinger, Southeast Missouri OH Sr. 5’11 Palos Heights, Ill.
Kappy Lang, Tennessee Tech S Sr. 5’8 Muncie, Ind.
Brittney Whitten, Jacksonville State OH Jr. 5’9 Boonville, Ind.
Ashley Doscher, Morehead State OH Sr. 6’0 Frisco, Texas
Candace Saleaumua, Tennessee State S/UTL Sr. 5’8 National City, Calif.
SECOND TEAM
Player, School Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown
Claire Keaton, Southeast Missouri OH So. 5’10 St. Charles, Mo.
Jade Guo, Murray State S Fr. 5’11 DaTong, China
Erin Peak, Morehead State* MB Sr. 6’2 Georgetown, Ind.
Logan Su, Murray State OH Fr. 6’1 A La Shan Zuo Qi, China
Katelyn Barbour, Morehead State* S Sr. 5’9 Florence, Ky.
Katie Kenline, Tennessee Tech# LIB Jr. 5’8 Ossian, Ind.
Caitlin Bullock, Tennessee Tech MB Sr. 6’0 Aubrey, Texas
OVC Player of the Year: Leah Meffert, Tennessee Tech
OVC Freshman of the Year: Jade Guo, Murray State
OVC Defensive Player of the Year: Katie Kenline, Tennessee Tech
OVC Coach of the Year: John Blair, Tennessee Tech
ALL-NEWCOMER
Player, School Pos. Yr. Ht. Hometown
Stephanie Champine, Austin Peay OH Jr. 5’10 Lambertville, Mich.
Jade Guo, Murray State S Fr. 5’11 DeTong, China
Lindsey Loescher, Eastern Kentucky OH Jr. 5’9 Crystal Lake, Ill.
Logan Su, Murray State OH Fr. 6’1 A La Shan Zuo Qi, China
Kayleah Sauer, Murray State LIB Fr. 5’6 Louisville, Ky.
Emma Keough, Morehead State MB Rs.-Fr. 5’11 Batavia, Ohio
Lauren Harkins, Jacksonville State DS Fr. 5’7 Louisville, Ky.
* - All-OVC First Team in 2007
# - All-OVC Second Team in 2007