OMAHA, Neb -- Five Omaha volleyball players were honored with 2017 all-league recognition from the Summit League, the conference office announced Thursday.
Senior
Sydney O'Shaughnessy was named to the All-Summit Team, and junior
Abby Bergsten and freshman
Bella Sade earned All-Summit Honorable Mention awards. Sade, who was tabbed Summit League Freshman of the Year, was also selected to the Summit League All-Freshman Team, joining classmates
Anna Blaschko and
Claire Mountjoy.
O'Shaughnessy was one of 12 student-athletes named All-Summit, marking the second time in her career she has garnered all-league recognition. The Omaha native averaged 10.09 assists, 2.78 digs, 0.94 kills, 0.31 service aces and 0.36 blocks per set in her senior campaign. She ranked second among league setters for assists per set and has tallied 13 double-doubles this season with 12 performances featuring 40 or more assists. O'Shaughnessy is 13th among the NCAA's Division I active career leaders for assists and ranks No. 2 in Omaha history and sixth in league history.
Sade becomes the first Maverick to earn freshman of the year plaudits. The Marion, Iowa, product has averaged a team-leading 1.05 blocks, 2.33 kills and 0.26 aces per set while hitting .280 and ranks second among league players for blocking average, total blocks (105) and block assists (92). Sade has nine matches with double-figure kills and eight performances with five or more blocks this season.
Bergsten, Omaha's leading hitter, has averaged a team-high 2.95 kills per set alongside 1.12 digs and 0.33 blocks per set this season. She also ranks third in league play with 3.33 kills per set. The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native has 12 matches with double-figure kills, and she has led Omaha in kills in nine matches.
Blaschko has averaged 1.99 kills and 1.01 blocks per set while hitting .288 in her inaugural campaign. The Summit League's leader for solo blocks (30), she ranks third in the league for blocks per set and has led the Mavericks in blocks 13 times this season.
Mountjoy, who assumed the role of Omaha's libero in her first year as a Maverick, ranks third in the league with 4.67 digs per set, as well as 0.90 assists and 0.18 aces per set. The Elkhorn, Neb., native owns eight performances with 20 or more digs this season.
Omaha opens the 2017 Summit League Volleyball Championship this Friday, Nov. 17. The fifth-seeded Mavericks take on fourth-seeded North Dakota State at 4 p.m. CT at Hamilton Gymnasium in Denver, Colo., and links to live stats and video will be available on OMavs.com.
2017 ALL-SUMMIT TEAMS AND AWARDS
All-Summit
Laura Milos, Oral Roberts
Becca Latham, Denver
Brittany Jessen, South Dakota
Brianna Rasmusson, North Dakota State
Hayley Dotseth, South Dakota
Mikaela Purnell, North Dakota State
CeCe Madison, Oral Roberts
Nicole Rightnowar, Fort Wayne
Kayla Principato, Denver
Emma Willis, Denver
Sydney O'Shaughnessy, Omaha
Anne Rasmussen, South Dakota
All-Summit Honorable Mention
Cassie Baird, Denver
Abby Bergsten, Omaha
Bella Sade, Omaha
Mackenzie Steckler, Western Illinois
Katie Crowe, Fort Wayne
Cassidy Rooke, Denver
Summit League All-Freshman Team
Bella Sade, Omaha
Tina Boe, Denver
Katie Crowe, Fort Wayne
Ellie Anderson, Denver
Morgan Blomquist, Oral Roberts
Claire Mountjoy, Omaha
Anna Blaschko, Omaha
Summit League Coach of the Year
Tom Hogan, Denver
Summit League Player of the Year
Laura Milos, Oral Roberts
Summit League Setter of the Year
Brittany Jessen, South Dakota
Summit League Freshman of the Year
Bella Sade, Omaha
Summit League Defensive Player of the Year
Mikaela Purnell, North Dakota State
