Dec. 5, 2007

LEXINGTON, KY -  The University of Dayton volleyball team was awarded at the conclusion of its best season in modern history with four Regional awards from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Wednesday.

Flyer head coach Tim Horsmon headlined the honors by being named the AVCA Division I Northeast Regional Coach of the Year. Horsmon will be one of eight coaches in the running for National Coach of the Year honors to be presented on Dec. 13. He was followed by Jamie-Lee Richards and Erin Schroeder earning Regional All-America honors. In addition, Bethany Akerhielm was a Honorable Mention selection.

Tim Horsmon led the University of Dayton to its best season in the modern history of the program in 2007. In just his fifth year at the helm of the Flyers, he guided Dayton to a 33-2 overall record and its fourth Atlantic 10 Conference title in five years with a 12-1 record. Dayton, which was nationally ranked for the first time in school history and reached a high of No. 12 on the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll on October 8, went on to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the fourth time under his tenure the team reached the national tournament. Horsmon won his first AVCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year award after running his record at UD to 128-43 record overall this season.

Richards saved her best season in Red and Blue for her last as she led UD with 3.91 kills per game in 2007. After tallying just 33 service aces in her first three seasons as a Flyer, Richards put up 65 alone during her senior campaign to lead the team. She was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection and was also named the Most Outstanding Player of the Atlantic 10 Championship.

Schroeder paced UD to 21 victories by 3-0 sweep by controlling the Flyer offensive and defensive attack thoughout the season. Dayton tallied kills on 42.1 percent of the balls set by Schroeder who averaged 12.01 assists per game in 2007. She was also second on the team with 2.84 digs per game and is more than 80 percent of the way to becoming just the second player in program history to record both 1,000 career assists and 1,000 career digs. Schroeder was Second Team All-Conference selection this season while also being named to the All-Championship Team.

Akerhielm was named to the A-10 First Team this season after leading the team in blocks with 1.19 bpg. She was also second on the team in hitting percentage (.343) and third in kills (2.60 kpg). Akerhielm was named the A-10 Player of the Week after earning MVP honors at the Mortar Board Premier when the Flyers defeated Purdue, Utah and North Carolina. She was also one of five Flyers to tally at least 30 service aces on the year.

2007 Division I AVCA Coaches of the Year Jerritt Elliott (Texas) - Central Jolene Jordan-Hoover (Clemson) - East Russ Rose (Penn State) - Mideast Liz Kritsza (Tulane) - Midwest Tim Horsmon (Dayton) - Northeast Debby Colberg (Sacramento State) - Pacific Matt Peck (Middle Tennessee) - South Allison Keeley (UNLV) - West 

2007 AVCA Division I Northeast All-Region Team

Jackie Ahlers (Stony Brook) Latoya Blunt (St. John's) Alona Cherkez (Villanova) Svetlana Dukule (Louisville) Marcela Gurgel (South Florida) Hui Ping Huang (St. John's) Wioleta Leszczynska (St. John's) Jill Quayle (Xavier) Jamie-Lee Richards (Dayton) Erin Schroeder (Dayton) Rubena Sukaj (American) Lena Yee (St. John's)

Region Freshman of the Year: Kellie Sciacca (Notre Dame)

Honorable Mention: Bethany Akerhielm (Dayton), Lecia Brown (Louisville), Parker Henritze (Princeton), Sutton Lasater (Saint Louis), Jessie Nevitt (Cincinnati), Whitney Roth (Saint Louis)