The Centennial Conference is well represented on the 2017 AVCA All-North Region team. Five players were named to the first team, while another earned honorable mention. It is the first time since 2000 that the Centennial has had five representatives on the elite squad.
Johns Hopkins' Natalie Aston was honored as the Region Freshman of the Year. She is the first Johns Hopkins player to receive the award and fourth in the history of the Conference.
LEXINGTON, KY – Natalie Aston, Louisa Kishton, and Elizabeth Wuerstle have been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region Team for the North Region while Aston was also named the region’s Freshman of the Year.
With three players on the team, Hopkins has now had 11 total honorees, with nine of the 11 being named to the first team. Aston is the second Blue Jay to be named the region’s rookie of the year, joining Jasmine Warmington who won the award in 2012.
Wuerstle, who has been named to the team in back-to-back seasons, was also named the Centennial Conference Player of the Year for the second straight season. The outside hitter set the team record for aces in a season (101), match (13) and career (262). She is tops in Division III in both aces and aces per set (1.11). For the season the Kennett Square, PA native also has 251 kills with a .289 hitting percentage.
Aston, who also won the conference rookie of the year, leads the team with 535 assists and is averaging 5.82 assists per set. She is third in the Centennial in hitting percentage (.309) and fourth in blocks per set (0.83).
Kishton ranks seventh in the conference and tops on JHU with 353 digs and 3.84 digs per set. She is also fifth in the Centennial in hitting percentage (.283), tenth in kills (268) and kills per set (2.91).
Muhlenberg junior Kelly Tornetta was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-North Region first team.
The third player in program history selected to the all-region squad, Tornetta will be considered for All-America honors.
Earlier this week, Tornetta was named to the All-Centennial Conference first team for the second year in a row. She leads the CC in total kills (376 - the sixth-highest single-season total in program history) and is second in kills per set (3.48). Tornetta hit .249 and averaged 2.46 digs per set for the year. She ended the season by recording double digits in kills in each of the last eight matches, with a high of 21 against Clarkson, and recorded 11 double-doubles.
Tornetta was named to all-tournament teams at Gettysburg's Battlefield Classic and Muhlenberg's Buttermaker Tournament during the season.
After three years, Tornetta is ninth on the Mules' all-time list with 853 career kills.
LEXINGTON, Ky.–Sophomore outside hitter Mehra den Braven of the Swarthmore College volleyball team has been named an AVCA Division III All-Region player, as announced by the organization on Thursday, Nov. 9.
She joins senior Sarah Wallace, a two-time honoree, as the only players in program history to receive the recognition. Earlier this week, den Braven was also named a member of the All-Centennial Conference First Team.
Den Braven, who hails from Santa Clara, California, improved on an impressive freshman campaign that earned her All- Conference Second Team honors last season. This fall, she led the Garnet attack with 3.23 kills per set, a mark that ranks fourth in the Centennial. Den Braven also averaged 3.54 digs per set and recorded 12 double-doubles. At one point in the season, she hit above .300 with nine or more kills in seven consecutive matches, which were all 3-0 wins for Swarthmore.
LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's Grace Maggiore received Honorable Mention on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region Team. The nod is Maggiore's second postseason accolade to go along with her Centennial Conference (CC) Second Team honor.
For a complete list of the All-Region Teams, click here.
A freshman setter, Maggiore ended the year with 867 assists and 120 kills. Maggiore's 8.58 assists per set were good for fifth in the Centennial overall. She recorded 16 games with 30 assists or more and led the team with 259 digs and 42 service aces.