CLEVELAND -- West Division champion Ball State University and divisional runner-up Western Michigan highlight the All-Mid-American Conference Volleyball teams, which were voted on by the league's head coaches and announced today by the conference office. Both schools had a combined six student-athletes who were selected to either the first- or second-team all-MAC volleyball squads.
Named to the first-team were Western Michigan's Traci Morin and Mandy Whitfield, Ball State's Emily Sallee, Bowling Green's Melissa Lewis, Miami's Alissia Thompson and Akron's Kim Schaper.
Morin, a senior from Bay City Mich., led the MAC in hitting percentage during the regular season (.410) and has been ranked as high as the top five nationally in that category. An honorable mention all-MAC choice last year as a junior, Morin also ranks in the top-10 in the league in blocks (1.23), kills (3.75) and aces (0.32) per contest. In conference play, the middle blocker hit a league-best .426.
Fellow Bronco Whitfield, a senior from Comstock, Mich., ranks among the league leaders in kills (4.08), digs (3.27) and aces per contest (0.33), and helped Western Michigan to a 15-3 record in MAC play during the regular season and 23 overall wins prior to the league tournament.
Ball State's Sallee, who is one of two repeat first-team selections from 1998 and the only non-senior on the first-team, passed out a league-high 1,636 assists this season, which is the second-highest output in MAC history. Only a junior, the Muncie, Ind., native is on pace to set a new league record for assists-per-game average and has a shot at the single season assist record. Sallee guided a senior-less Cardinal team to their sixth MAC regular season title in the 1990s.
Lewis led the Falcons in kills (494) and kills per game (4.49), which was third in the MAC entering the league tournament. The senior helped BG to a second-place finish in the East Division and the school's first 20-win season since 1993.
Schaper, one of two setters on the first-team, was second to Sallee in total assists at the conclusion of the regular season with 1,446 and was fifth in the league in assists per game (12.47). The senior helped Akron to its first divisional title in volleyball this year following a 13-5 mark in league play. Completing the first-team is Thompson, a senior middle hitter/outside hitter, a repeat first-team all-MAC performer from a year ago. Thompson, who missed the final regular season match and the RedHawks' tournament match after breaking her thumb in the weight room, led the team in kills (377) and ranked in the top-10 in the league in attack percentage, kills per game and blocks per contest.
Named to the all-MAC second team are Bowling Green's Lori Kemerer, Eastern Michigan's Jill Hutton, Akron's Julie McDivitt and three Ball State players -- Susie Meshberger, Megan Hammons and Julie Zylka.
Capturing honorable mention all-conference honors are Akron's Kim Branam, Eastern Michigan's Camila Olaio, Ohio's Katie Mullen, Western Michigan's Jen Nowak and Kent's Carrie Patterson and Kellie Nowak.
The six first-year student-athletes who grabbed MAC all-Freshman honors are Akron's Jenn Snyder and Katie Kuzior, Northern Illinois' Jen VonderHaar, Marshall's Heidi Kuethe and Sara Boyles and Toledo's Jessica Buck.
The six members of the first-team all-MAC squad are now finalists for the league's Player of the Year award, while one of the six members of the all-Freshman team will be named Freshman of the Year. Those two awards, plus the MAC's Coach of the Year, will be announced Wednesday, Dec. 1. The league's head coaches will vote on all three awards.
First Team
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown (High School)
Melissa Lewis Bowling Green LS Sr. Mansfield, Ohio (Madison)
%Traci Morin Western Mich. MB Sr. Bay City, Mich. (John Glenn)
#Emily Sallee Ball State S Jr. Muncie, Ind. (Burris)
$Kim Schaper Akron S Sr. Kalamazoo, Mich. (Central)
#Alissia Thompson Miami MH/OH Sr. Elk Grove Village, Ill. (Elk Grove Village)
Mandy Whitfield Western Mich. OH Sr. Comstock, Mich. (Comstock)
Second Team
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown (High School)
Megan Hammons Ball State OA So. West Liberty, Iowa (West Liberty)
%Jill Hutton Eastern Mich. MB Sr. Kingsville, Ontario (Kingsville District)
Lori Kemerer Bowling Green M Sr. Antwerp, Ohio (Antwerp)
%Julie McDivitt Akron OH Jr. Windham, Ohio (Windham)
Susie Meshberger Ball State MA So. Linn Grove, Ind. (South Adams)
Julie Zylka Ball State MA So. Muncie, Ind. (Delta)
Honorable Mention
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown (High School)
Kim Branam Akron MH Sr. Elyria, Ohio (Elyria)
#Katie Mullen Ohio MB/OH Sr. Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue)
Jen Nowak Western Mich. S Jr. St. Charles, Ill. (St. Charles)
Kellie Nowak Kent RS Sr. Lambertville, Mich. (Temperance Bedford)
Camila Olaio Eastern Mich. S So. Sao Paolo, Brazil (Colegio Universitaris)
Carrie Patterson Kent OH Sr. Mineral Ridge, Ohio (Mineral Ridge)
Pepsi All-Freshman Team
Name School Pos. Hometown (High School)
Sara Boyles Marshall MB Colorado Springs, Colo. (Wasson)
Jessica Buck Toledo MB Northwood, Ohio (Northwood)
Heidi Kuethe Marshall MB Normal, Ill. (University)
Katie Kuzior Akron MH Tallmadge, Ohio (Tallmadge)
Jenn Snyder Akron OH Elyria, Ohio (Elyria)
Jen VonderHaar Northern Ill. MB Hibbing, Minn. (Hibbing)
# First-team all-MAC selection in 1998
$ Second-team all-MAC selection in 1998
% Honorable mention all-MAC selection in 1998