Horizon League Announces 2019 #HLVB Awards
INDIANAPOLIS – Green Bay’s Taylor Wolf has been named the Horizon League Volleyball Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Maddie Yoss has earned Setter of the Year honors. Wright State’s Jenna Story has been chosen Defensive Player of the Year, while head coach Allie Matters has earned the title of Coach of the Year. In addition, Milwaukee’s Ari Miller was named the Freshman of the Year. All-League teams and specialty award winners were chosen by the League’s nine head coaches and announced by the Horizon League on Thursday.
Wolf is the first player to win back-to-back Player of the Year honors since 2015 (UIC’s Stephenee Yancy) as the junior was also chosen Offensive Player of the Year by the League’s head coaches. This season, Wolf posted 4.45 kills per set and 5.04 points per set to lead the League, while hitting .278. Overall, the Waconia, Minn. native is ranked 11th nationally with 539.5 total points this season.
Story is the second Raider to earn Defensive Player of the Year recognition and first since 2003 (Allie Smerz). The sophomore libero is ranked second nationally and first among League players with 6.41 digs per set, leading WSU to its first regular season title, after picking up All-Freshman Team honors in 2018. The Raiders held opponents to a .138 hitting percentage this season.
Yoss won her second straight Setter of the Year award on Thursday. The senior led the League with 10.60 assists per set this season, totaling 1134 total assists in her final campaign for the Phoenix. Yoss joins CSU’s Gina Kilner who also earned two Setter of the Year awards (2016-17) in her career.
Miller was a key part of a Milwaukee offense that led the League with a .242 hitting percentage this season. The freshman middle blocker ranked fourth in the League with a .289 hitting percentage, while posting 2.72 kills per set for the Panthers as MKE earned the number two seed and a first-round bye in the championship.
Matters, in her second season leading the Raiders, earns Coach of the Year following WSU’s first regular season championship in program history. Wright State posted a 13-3 record in League play this season, going 24-4 overall in the regular season. The Raiders enter this weekend’s championship with an eight-match win streak.
Joining Wolf, Story, Yoss, and Miller on the All-League First Team are student-athletes from four programs. Three other Raiders join Story on the First Team: Nyssa Baker (.327 hitting percentage), Celia Powers (2.72 kills per set), and Lainey Stephenson (9.71 assists per set). Carmen Heilemann (2.88 kills per set) joins teammate Miller, while Cleveland State adds two athletes, Hannah Greene (.284 hitting percentage) and Trinniti Hall (3.32 kills per set). NKU’s Anna Brinkmann (3.01 kills per set) and UIC’s Michelle Glover (.301 hitting percentage) complete the All-League First Team.
Six players also earned All-League Honorable Mention honors, including two Golden Grizzlies. Jamie Walling and Lindsay Wightman represent Oakland, while IUPUI’s Haley Hoffman, Milwaukee’s Jess Grabowski, NKU’s Ashton Terrill, and WSU’s Teddie Sauer round out the Honorable Mention honorees.
MKE’s Miller highlights the All-Freshman Team, with six total schools represented. NKU’s Abby Kanakry and Reilly Briggs, GB’s Brenna Hesse, IUPUI’s Allie Pogue, OAK’s Brittany Welch, and WSU’s Megan Alders complete the All-Freshman Team.
The Horizon League Volleyball Championship begins on Friday, Nov. 22, with two quarterfinal contests. No. 3 seed Green Bay battles No. 6 seed Oakland at 3 p.m. ET, then No. 4 seed Northern Kentucky takes on No. 5 seed UIC at 6 p.m. ET.
On Saturday, Nov. 23, the first semifinal will see No. 1 seed Wright State square off against the lowest remaining seed at 3 p.m. ET, with No. 2 seed Milwaukee taking on the highest remaining seed at 6 p.m. ET. The championship contest will commence at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 24.
Every match of the 2019 Horizon League Volleyball Championship will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can also follow all the action on social media by following @HorizonLeague.
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2019 #HLVB Award Winners
Player of the Year
Taylor Wolf, Green Bay
Offensive Player of the Year
Taylor Wolf, Green Bay
Defensive Player of the Year
Jenna Story, Wright State
Setter of the Year
Maddie Yoss, Green Bay
Freshman of the Year
Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Coach of the Year
Allie Matters, Wright State
First Team All-League (alphabetical by school)
Hannah Greene, Cleveland State
Trinniti Hall, Cleveland State
Taylor Wolf, Green Bay
Maddie Yoss, Green Bay
Carmen Heilemann, Milwaukee
Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Anna Brinkmann, Northern Kentucky
Michelle Glover, UIC
Nyssa Baker, Wright State
Celia Powers, Wright State
Lainey Stephenson, Wright State
Jenna Story, Wright State
Honorable Mention All-League (alphabetical by school)
Haley Hoffman, IUPUI
Jess Grabowski, Milwaukee
Ashton Terrill, Northern Kentucky
Jamie Walling, Oakland
Lindsay Wightman, Oakland
Teddie Sauer, Wright State
All-Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Brenna Hesse, Green Bay
Allie Pogue, IUPUI
Reilly Briggs, Northern Kentucky
Abby Kanakry, Northern Kentucky
Ari Miller, Milwaukee
Brittany Welch, Oakland
Megan Alders, Wright State