NEWPORT NEWS, Va.— Three Dayton volleyball student-athletes repeated as the Atlantic 10 Conference’s top volleyball award winners the conference announced Thursday. In addition, UD head coach Tim Horsmon and Rhode Island head coach Bob Schneck were selected as Co-Coaches of the Year.

Dayton’s Alaina Turner was voted A-10 Player of the Year while her teammates Janna Krafka and Jane Emmenecker were chosen as Libero of the Year and Setter of the Year respectively. All three also won the same awards in 2014. Davidson’s Sabrina Shepherd and George Washington’s Kelsey Clark were selected as Co-Rookies of the Year.

The honors, which also included First and Second Team All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic were awarded Thursday in advance of the 2015 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship, which begins Friday at George Washington’s Charles E. Smith Center. The major awards, All-Conference Teams and All-Rookie Team were voted on by the A-10’s head volleyball coaches. The All-Academic team was selected by the volleyball media relations directors.

Horsmon also repeated as Coach of the Year, leading Dayton to its second consecutive A-10 regular season title and a perfect 14-0 record to earn the championship’s top seed. Schneck just earned his 600^th career win on Sunday in a 3-2 win over VCU. He led the Rams to a 9-2 A-10 mark and the No. 3 seed in the upcoming championship.

Turner, a senior outside hitter from Canton, Mich., ranks second in the A-10 with 4.21 kills per set and .46 aces per set.  She ranks 21st nationally with 4.94 points and was a two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Week this year.

Krafka, a senior libero from Centerville, Ohio, leads the A-10 in digs per set at 4.22. She was selected as league’s Defensive Player of the Week twice this season and was a key contributor to an overall opponent hitting percentage of .163 which ranks 28th nationally. 

A sophomore setter from Perrysburg, Ohio, Emmenecker guided an offense that led the A-10 hitting percentage at .285 and leads the conference in assists and kills per set at 12.60. She averaged 9.88 assists per set in a 6-2 offense.

Shepherd, a middle hitter from Cave Springs, Ark., earned three all-tournament awards this year and three A-10 Rookie of the Week honors.  She was one of only two players in the conference in the top five of hitting percentage  and blocks per set. 

Clark, a freshman outside hitter from Chicago, ranks second on team in both kills (276) and points (314).  She recorded double-digit kills in 15 matches and five double-doubles and was selected as A-10 Rookie of Week once this season.

The 2015 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship begins Friday with two matches between No. 4 George Washington and No. 5 VCU in the first quarterfinal and No. 3 Rhode Island and No. 6 Duquesne in the second quarterfinal. No. 1 Dayton and No. 2 Saint Louis will face the two winners in Saturday’s semifinals. The championship final will be played Sunday at 2:30 pm. The semifinals and final will air live on American Sports Network (ASN) and all rounds will be available online on the A-10 Network.

 

All-Conference First Team

Jane Emmenecker, Dayton (setter)

Amber Erhahon, Dayton

Alaina Turner, Dayton

Chidima Osuchukwu, George Washington

Franki Darnold, Rhode Island

Danielle Rygelski, Saint Louis

Megan Gilbert, Saint Louis

All-Conference Second Team

Janna Krafka, Dayton

Lacey Levers, Duquesne

Maddy Doyle, George Washington

Audrey Castro, Rhode Island

Layne Self, Rhode Island

Callan Kinnan, Rhode Island (setter)

Kalah Jones, VCU

All-Rookie Team

Sabrina Shepherd, Davidson

Margo Wolf, Dayton

Kelsey Clark, George Washington

Jensen Sharrits, La Salle

Tori Baldwin, VCU

Sahbria McLetchie, VCU

Indigo Thompson, VCU

All-Academic Team

Morgan Shannon, Davidson

Janna Krafka, Dayton

Sammy Kline, Duquesne

Brennan Delsing, Fordham

Chidima Osuchukwu, George Washington

Maddy Doyle, George Washington

Cate Seman, Rhode Island

Danielle Rygelski, Saint Louis

---