La Verne player earns SCIAC top honor

University of La Verne volleyball standout Brianna Gonzales has been named the 2008 SCIAC Player of the Year after helping lead the Leopards to their ninth straight conference championship and second consecutive undefeated league mark.

Gonzales was joined by four other Leopards in the All-Conference awards as Crista Jones and Anna Calmer were First Team All-SCIAC selections while Yesenia Lopez and Ashley Morgado each earned Second Team nods.

Voting for the all-conference teams was conducted among the league's coaches.

Gonzales paced La Verne She tallied a team-high 310 kills (3.92 per game) while also collecting 274 digs which ranked second-most on the Leopard squad. She had a .268 overall hitting percentage on the season while hitting .304 in conference matches from her outside
hitter position. Gonzales also reached double figures in both kills and digs in 14 matches this season.

A senior from Whittier, Gonzales repeats as SCIAC Player of the Year from last season and becomes La Verne's first two-time Player of the Year since Amy Kratochvil (2002, 2004). Her selection marks the 16th time a La Verne student-athlete has earned SCIAC Player of the Year honors in volleyball.

Jones led La Verne in hitting percentage at .353 in all matches while hitting .397 in conference play. The junior middle blocker also tallied 225 kills (2.85 per game) in addition to leading the team in blocks with 72. Jones makes her third appearance on the All-SCIAC squad after a First Team selection in 2006 and a Second Team nod in 2007.

A sophomore from La Habra, Calmer earns her first selection to the All-SCIAC team after making a successful transition from setter to rightside hitter for the Leopards. Calmer finished the regular season with 157 kills, an average of 2.01 per game.

A junior from Hacienda Heights, Morgado makes her first All-SCIAC selection after collecting 123 kills. The middle blocker also registered 58 total blocks this season.

Lopez dished out a team-high 721 assists. The junior setter from West Covina helped La Verne record the highest team hitting percentage in the conference (.250) while averaging 8.90 assists per game which ranked second in SCIAC play.

La Verne finished the regular season with a 23-2 overall record including a 14-0 mark in the SCIAC to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Leopards are currently ranked #3 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
Division III Top 25 Poll.

The team includes:

Anna Calmer OH  ULV SO

Emily Hudson  OH CMS  FR
Summer Plante-Newman  OH CLU JR
Crista Jones M ULV JR
Allison Kerr  M CLU SO
Linsdey Benson  S CLU SR
Ruchi Patel L  PP SR


Second Team

Corri Hayes OH CLU JR
Helena Bottemiller  M CMS SR
Ashley Morgado  M ULV JR
Alex Harrison  S  CMS SR
Yesenia Lopez  S ULV JR
Chelsea Arcaris  L  UR SO

Erin Exline  M CLU SO