LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) announced its volleyball year-end award winners Thursday, with Clarion’s Mackenzie Biggs and Taylor Braunagel both earning Second Team All-PSAC honors in 2016.
(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)
This is the third all-conference honor in a row for Biggs and the second for Braunagel.
Biggs earned the third straight all-conference honors of her career, as the senior right side was named a Second Team honoree in 2014 and a First Team honoree last year. She ranked second to only Braunagel in kills and kills per set this year, finishing with 282 total kills and 2.71 kills per set. Her .267 hitting percentage led all qualified players on the team in hitting percentage. Defensively Biggs was also a force, ranking second on the team with an average of 0.74 blocks per set. She was recognized as the PSAC Southwest Athlete of the Week on Oct. 18.
Braunagel is being honored as a Second Team All-PSAC selection for the second straight season after posting a career-high in kills per set and ranking among the Golden Eagles’ offensive leaders again. She finished with 359 total kills and a team-best 3.42 kills per set average that ranked sixth in the PSAC, and earlier in the year became the latest member of the 1,000 Kill club at Clarion. Braunagel now ranks sixth in program history with 1,111 career kills and eighth in career attempts with 3,242 total swings. Twice this year Braunagel was honored as the PSAC Southwest Athlete of the Week, earning the honors in back-to-back weeks.
Gannon senior Hannah Kren was the PSAC Volleyball Athlete of the Year while her coach while Gannon head coach Matt Darling, earned PSAC Volleyball Coach of the Year.
Kren landed on an all-conference team for the fourth time in her career after earning Freshman of the Year accolades in 2013. The Waukesha, Wis., product averaged 3.44 points per set and started 30 of Gannon’s 31 matches. She is the second Lady Knight to garner the award (Lauren Sazama, 2012). The senior amassed 307 kills and 17 aces.
Darling earned his third PSAC Coach of the Year award (2009 & 2012) after Gannon posted a 27-3 regular season mark and claimed the No. 1 seed in the PSAC Volleyball Tournament after sporting a 16-2 conference record. Following a 3-0 win against No. 8 West Chester in a quarterfinal, the Lady Knights host the semifinals and final this weekend. Three Gannon players sit in the top 10 in hitting percentage.
Pitt.-Johnstown junior Devan Orr grabbed her third consecutive PSAC Defensive Player of the Year award and lands on the all-conference first team for the second time in her career. The Carol Stream, Ill., native was fifth in digs per set (5.37) and fourth in service aces (43). Her 601 digs are the fourth-most in the league. UPJ earned the No. 3 seed after posting a 15-3 conference mark and sporting a perfect 10-0 record at home.
Shippensburg’s Samantha Webber claimed PSAC Freshman of the Year recognition after tying for third in blocks (95). She is the fifth Raider to earn the accolade and first since 2012. Webber averaged 2.38 kills per set and 2.93 points per set. The freshman recorded a block assist in every match but three and produced a season-high eight total blocks against Ohio Valley (Oct. 22).
Shippensburg senior Maura Nolan earned all-conference recognition for the fourth time in career while UPJ’s Marissa Erminio, Cambria Wierman, and Kendall Mahony joined Biggs on an all-conference team for third time.
In addition to Clarion’s two All-Conference selections, UPJ paced the league with five selections while Gannon, Edinboro and West Chester turned in four representatives each. California and Shippensburg placed three members while IUP also notched two. Slippery Rock, Mercyhurst and Seton Hill have one representative apiece.
