NEW HAVEN, CT - Georgian Court University junior outside hitter, Ann Casado, has been named the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Volleyball Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in balloting released today. Freshman middle hitter Christine Puschak of USP is the pick for Rookie of the Year and Francisco Casado of Georgian Court and Suzanne Kilian of Holy Family University were tabbed co-Coaches of the Year. Nyack College was given the Annual Team Sportsmanship Award. The conference's 13 head coaches conducted the voting for the All-CACC awards.
Casado, who hails from Brick, NJ, led Georgian Court to a perfect 18-0 conference record and an overall mark of 27-8. The Lions are currently ranked fifth in the Northeast Region. Casado finished the regular season ranked third in the CACC in hitting percentage (.291) and kills per-game (3.95) and second in service aces (0.71). She also posted an average of 2.50 digs per-game to rank second on the team.
Puschak, who is from Leola, PA, helped USP improve from an 8-17 overall record last year to a 16-16 mark this year. The Devils also won five more conference games than last year and will be the fourth seed in the South Division in the upcoming CACC Volleyball Tournament. Puschak ranked fourth in the CACC with 0.60 service aces per-game. Furthermore, she led the Devils with 2.69 kills per-game, a .218 attack percentage and 0.60 service aces per-game. She also averaged 0.73 blocks per-game.
Francisco Casado led Georgian Court to the top seed in the South Division for this week's CACC Volleyball Championships with a perfect 18-0 record. The Lions are looking to repeat as CACC Champions after losing only four total games to CACC foes in the regular-season. Georgian Court swept its CACC opponent 14 times in 18 matches.
Kilian and the Tigers will be the No. 3 seed in the South Division for the CACC Tournament. Holy Family went 14-4 in conference play this season after going 7-9 last year. The seven-win improvement was the best in the CACC. The Tigers had four players earn All-CACC status this year, including three on the first team, after having only one second team selection last year.
Casado, Philadelphia senior Emily Krauss and Bloomfield sophomore Ursula Pereira were all repeat picks on the All-CACC first team. The future of the conference also looks bright, as there is only one senior among the 14 All-Conference honorees.
The CACC postseason award-winners are listed on the following page.
2007 All-CACC Volleyball Team
FIRST TEAM
OH Ann Casado Georgian Court Jr. Brick, NJ
OH Lauren Gosnell Holy Family Fr. Tipton, IN
OH Emily Krauss Philadelphia Sr. Stormville, NY
MB Crystal Murdock Georgian Court Jr. Manahawkin, NJ
OH Jen O'Connor Holy Family Jr. Wilmington, DE
MB Ursula Pereira Bloomfield So. Newark, NJ
L Maria Scherrer Holy Family Fr. Hebron, KY
SECOND TEAM
MH Nicole Berkstresser Philadelphia So. Bridgewater, NJ
S Nicole Degenhardt Felician So. Secaucus, NJ
S Aimee Drabyn Holy Family Fr. Avon, IN
MB Celeste Lindsey Bloomfield Jr. Cincinnati, OH
S Sonia Perez Bloomfield Jr. San Jose, Costa Rica
OH Kerry Smith Post Jr. Lynbrook, NY
L Claire Tauschek USP Jr. Verona, WI
Honorable Mention: Cady Rich, Fr., MB, USP; Christine Puschak, Fr., MH, USP; Celena Rendon, So., OH, Philadelphia; Lindsey Wenderoth, Sr., OH, USP
Player of the Year: Ann Casado, Jr., OH, Georgian Court
Rookie of the Year: Christine Puschak, Fr., MH, USP
Co-Coaches of the Year: Francisco Casado, Georgian Court and Suzanne Kilian, Holy Family
Team Sportsmanship Award: Nyack College