Horizon League Releases 2017 Volleyball Major Award Winners and All-League Teams
Rachel White
INDIANAPOLIS-The Horizon League has announced its 2017 Volleyball Awards, headlined by Oakland’s Darien Bandel, a trio of Cleveland State honorees, and Green Bay’s Taylor Wolf. Bandel is the 2017 Horizon League Volleyball Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, and an All-League First Team selection. Regular season champion Cleveland State picked up several major awards as Shannon Grega was honored as Defensive Player of the Year, Gina Kilner was recognized as Setter of the Year, and Chuck Voss was tabbed Coach of the Year. Wolf earned the final major award, taking Freshman of the Year honors and being named to the First Team All-League. All award winners were chosen by the nine head coaches.
Senior outside hitter Darien Bandel led all Horizon League players in overall matches and conference matches in kills per set. Bandel averaged 4.55 kills per set in league play, earning her Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the year recognition, along with being named First Team All-League. Bandel led the Oakland offense to a second place finish in the regular season, helping the Golden Grizzlies secure a first-round bye in the Horizon League Volleyball Championships. Fellow seniors Sammy Condon (First Team All-League) and Krysteena Davis (Honorable Mention) also represent Oakland in the postseason awards, along with Freshman Team member Jamie Walling.
Regular season champion Cleveland State boasts three major award winners and a total of four All-League honorees. Chuck Voss earned Coach of the Year, while senior Gina Kilner was named Setter of the Year, and libero Shannon Grega picked up Defensive Player of the Year. Kilner ran one of the top offenses in league play, averaging 10.78 assists per set. Grega led the league in service aces and was second in digs in league matches. Joining Kilner and Grega on the First Team All-League is Alexis Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks finished the regular season ranked second in hitting percentage in league play. Sara Skeens also received Honorable Mention honors while Emily DeGeorge joined the Freshman team. The Vikings are the number one seed in the upcoming Horizon League Volleyball Championships.
Green Bay’s right side Taylor Wolf picked up Freshman of the Year honors. Wolf ranked in the top ten in league play in both kills per set and hitting percentage, helping the Phoenix to the number four seed. Senior Lydia DeWeese, who also ranked in the top ten in the same offensive categories as Wolf, was also honored on the First Team, while setter Maddie Yoss was an Honorable Mention selection. Roberta Todd joined Wolf on the Freshman team.
The number three seed in the tournament, IUPUI, has two First-Team members in its first season in the Horizon League. Senior right side Kori Waelbroeck was fourth in kills per set in league play and teammate Haley Hoffman was sixth in hitting percentage and third in blocks in league play, earning each of them All-League recognition.
UIC ‘s Kyisha Hunt earned First Team All-League, ranking third in league play in kills per set. Fellow Flames Manuela Conte and Alex Hicks were recognized on the Freshman team. Haley Libs led the way for Northern Kentucky ranking fifth in kills and tenth in digs among league teams in league matches, earning First-Team recognition. Freshman Bailey Western represented the Norse on the Freshman team.
Milwaukee’s Bridget Wallenberger led the way in league matches with a .334 hitting percentage (first in league) and 4.38 kills per set (second) for the Panthers, leading to her selection on the All-League First Team. Setter Jenn Dore was an Honorable Mention honoree for UWM. Wright State’s Jessie Thornton and Megan Hopkins represent the Raiders as All-League Honorable Mentions.
The 2017 Horizon League Volleyball Championships will be played Nov. 17-19 at Cleveland State University. Visit
tournament central for more information.
Offensive Player of the Year
Darien Bandel, Oakland
Defensive Player of the Year
Shannon Grega, Cleveland State
Setter of the Year
Gina Kilner, Cleveland State
Coach of the Year
Chuck Voss, Cleveland State
Player of the Year
Darien Bandel, Oakland
Freshman of the Year
Taylor Wolf, Green Bay
All-League First Team
Shannon Grega, Cleveland State
Gina Kilner, Cleveland State
Alexis Middlebrooks, Cleveland State
Lydia DeWeese, Green Bay
Taylor Wolf, Green Bay
Haley Hoffman, IUPUI
Kori Waelbroeck, IUPUI
Bridget Wallenberger, Milwaukee
Haley Libs, Northern Kentucky
Darien Bandel, Oakland
Sammy Condon, Oakland
Kyisha Hunt, UIC
All-League Honorable Mention
Sara Skeens, Cleveland State
Maddie Yoss, Green Bay
Jenn Dore, Milwaukee
Krysteena Davis, Oakland
Megan Hopkins, Wright State
Jessie Thornton, Wright State
Freshman Team
Emily DeGeorge, Cleveland State
Roberta Todd, Green Bay
Taylor Wolf, Green Bay
Bailey Western, Northern Kentucky
Jamie Walling, Oakland
Manuela Conte, UIC
Alex Hicks, UIC