Badgers land five on AVCA All-Region team

Dec. 9, 2014

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MADISON, Wis. - The records keep falling for the second-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team. The Badgers landed five players on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Northeast All-Region team, the organization announced today. It was the most all-region selections for the Badgers, topping 2007's four all-region picks. In addition, head coach Kelly Sheffield was named the regional coach of the Year.

Sophomore Lauren Carlini earns her second all-region pick while first-time honors go to seniors Courtney Thomas and Dominique Thompson, junior Taylor Morey and sophomore Haleigh Nelson. All five honorees will now be up for All-America honors, which will be announced on Dec. 17.

Sheffield picks up his third AVCA Regional Coach of the Year honor as he was honored twice at Dayton. He was also named the 2014 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year.

A 6-2 setter, Carlini was named the AVCA Northeast Freshman of the Year in 2013. She went on to earn second-team All-America honors last season. This year, she was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Setter of the Year. The Aurora, Illinois native currently ranks second in the Big Ten with 11.42 assists per set. She is second on the Badger squad with 3.04 digs per set and paces the team with 16 double-doubles on the season.

Thomas, a 6-0 right-side hitter, ranks third on the Badgers with 2.84 kills per set while ranking third with a .347 hitting percentage. The DeKalb, Illinois native earned first-team All-Big Ten honors this season. She also adds 2.22 digs, 0.68 blocks, 1.10 assists and 0.14 service aces per set.

A 5-11 middle blocker, Thompson ranks second on the Badgers in hitting percentage (.355) and blocks per set (1.09), which rank eighth and 12th in the Big Ten, respectively. A native of Plymouth, Minnesota, she was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick.

The 2014 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Morey leads the conference with 5.20 digs per set. The Muncie, Indiana native has recorded double-figure digs in 29 matches, including 13 matches with 20-plus digs, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Nelson, a 6-3 middle blocker, leads the Badgers and ranks third in the Big Ten with a .388 hitting percentage. She has a team-best 1.30 blocks per set, which ranks fourth in the conference. A native of Cary, North Carolina, Nelson earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors this season.

The fourth-seeded Badgers (30-2) take on Ohio State (23-11) in the NCAA Louisville Regional semifinals on Friday at 4 p.m. CT at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. No. 5-seed Penn State (32-3) takes on UCLA (22-11) in the second regional semifinal at 6 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Semifinal winners advance to the regional final on Saturday at 3 p.m. live on ESPNU for the right to compete in the 2014 NCAA National Semifinals on Dec. 18 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

AVCA Northeast Region

First Name	Last Name	School	Position	Year
Jocelynn	Birks**	University of Illinois	OH	RS Jr.
Elizabeth	Campbell	Ohio State University	OH	Jr.
Lauren	Carlini**	University of Wisconsin	S	So.
Ali	Frantti	Penn State University	OH	Fr.
Abby	Gilleland**	Ohio University	S	Jr.
Nia	Grant**	Penn State University	MB	Sr.
Micha	Hancock***	Penn State University	S	Sr.
Liz	McMahon	University of Illinois	RS	Sr.
Taylor	Morey	University of Wisconsin	L	Jr.
Haleigh	Nelson	University of Wisconsin	MB	So.
Taylor	Sandbothe	Ohio State University	MB	So.
Courtney	Thomas	University of Wisconsin	RS	Sr.
Dominique	Thompson	University of Wisconsin	MB	RS Sr.
Aiyana	Whitney	Penn State University	RS	RS Jr.

Honorable Mention

First Name	Last Name	School	Position	Year
Kelly	Lamberti	Ohio University	OH	Sr.
Annie	Drews	Purdue University	RS	Jr.
Kendall	Peterkin	Princeton University	OH/RS	Jr.
Emily	Campbell	Valparaiso University	OH/RS	So.
Taylor	Sherwin	Ohio State University	S	Sr.
Val	Nichol	Purdue University	S/RS	Sr.

Freshman of the Year: Ali Frantti, Penn State, OH

Coach of the Year: Kelly Sheffield, Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin Athletics

Badgers land five on AVCA All-Region team

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