Nine C-USA Volleyball Players Earn All-Midwest Region Accolades

Michelle Collier

Nine Conference USA Volleyball Players were named to the All-Midwest Region Team, matching the highest in league history.

CHICAGO – For the second consecutive year, nine Conference USA volleyball players were named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Midwest Region Team, as announced Wednesday by the AVCA. Cincinnati’s JULIE DUPONT, TRISH LADUSAW and BONITA WISE, Houston’s JENNY TANNEBERGER, Louisville’s SARAH DRURY and BING SUN, Saint Louis’ COLLEEN HUNTER, and South Florida’s MICHELLE COLLIER and ALE DOMINGOS were all named to the All-Region Team. It marks the second time that C-USA had nine players on the list, matching the most in league history. Louisville’s BENNY FLYNN also received All-Midwest Region honorable mention accolades.

Cincinnati led C-USA with three players named to the All-Midwest Region team – Julie DuPont, Trish Ladusaw and Bonita Wise. DuPont and Ladusaw earned their first All-Region selection, after leading the Bearcats to their eighth-straight 20-plus win season and fourth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats fell to Arizona State, 3-2, in the first round of the tourney. DuPont ranked first on the Cincinnati squad in kills (5.45), while Ladusaw became the first C-USA player to reach 2,000 career digs, breaking the C-USA all-time digs record with a total of 2,044. Ladusaw also earned her third-consecutive C-USA Defensive Player of the Year honor this season. Wise captured her third All-Region honor in four seasons, after ranking second in the conference in hitting percentage (.358). She was also named to the All-Conference First Team.

Houston’s Jenny Tanneberger was named to her first All-Midwest Region Team. She led the Cougars and ranked fourth in the league with 5.26 kills per game and a .335 attack percentage in 2002.

Louisville’s Sarah Drury and Bing Sun captured their first All-Region selection after leading the Cardinals to an NCAA appearance and a share of the C-USA regular season title. Drury finished second in the conference with 4.54 digs per game. Sun stepped in for leading-hitter Sonja Percan, who was lost for the season after sustaining an ankle injury, to finish with a team-high 4.45 kills per game. The Cardinals returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th-time in school history and advanced to the second round before falling to Ohio State, 3-0.

For the third consecutive year, Saint Louis’ Colleen Hunter was named All-Region. Hunter became SLU’s all-time kill leader with 2,260 in her four-year career. She also ranked second on the league’s all-time kills list and became the first C-USA player to capture at least 1,500 kills, 1,000 digs and 500 blocks in a career.

South Florida’s Michelle Collier earned her fourth AVCA All-Midwest Region honor, while Ale Domingos claimed her second this year. Collier was named C-USA Player of the Year for the second time in her career, after leading the conference in kills with 5.63 per game and second in service aces (.53 pg). She also captured the league's career record with 2,729 kills in 471 games played. Domingos, the 2001 and 2002 C-USA Setter of the Year, finished the season ranked first in the league with 13.28 assists per game.

After sweeping Louisville in the finals of the 2002 Healthy Choice C-USA Tournament, South Florida earned its second NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Nancy Mueller and sixth in the last eight years. The Bulls advanced to the NCAA second round after defeating Florida State, but fell to Florida, 3-1. They finished the 2002 season with a 30-7 overall mark, marking their second 30-plus win season in school history, and their first since posting a 34-14 record in 1986.

All-Midwest Region Team
Amy Almond, Morehead State
Michelle Collier, South Florida
Shari Davis, Loyola-Chicago
Alessandra Domingos, South Florida
Sarah Drury, Louisville
Julie DuPont, Cincinnati
Lauren Holbrook, Loyola-Chicago
Colleen Hunter, Saint Louis
Trish Ladusaw, Cincinnati
Bing Sun, Louisville
Jenny Tanneberger, Houston
Bonita Wise, Cincinnati

Honorable Mention: Benny Flynn, Louisville

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