Five Simpson volleyball players earn postseason honors
INDIANOLA, Iowa – First-Team All-Iowa Conference honorees Tara Christensen and Lara Gillespie led a group of five Simpson volleyball players earning All-Iowa Conference recognition for the 2009 season.
Simpson's career leader in assists, Christensen became only the 10th player in Iowa Conference history to earn all-conference honors four times. The senior from Hinton, Iowa, received second team accolades as a freshman in 2006 and first team honors from 2007-09. Christensen ranks in the top-25 in Division III history with 5,526 career assists. She also led the team with 43 service aces and was named to the all-tournament team at the UW-Whitewater Invitational.
Gillespie joins Christensen on the first team, selected an all-conference performer for the first time. The Lake Park, Iowa-native leads the team with 397 kills and is second with 456 digs. During the season she was named to the all-tournament teams at the Simpson Invitational and UW-Platteville Tournament and took home Iowa Conference Offensive Performer of the Week accolades twice (Oct. 11 and Nov. 9).
Whitney Oviatt and Brittany Friesth each landed spots as second team all-conference selections for the second time in their careers. A senior middle blocker from Carnation, Wash., Oviatt's 380 kills ranked second on the team behind Gillespie while leading the squad with 104 blocks. Oviatt earned Iowa Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for the period ending Oct. 4.
Friesth, a senior libero from Adel, Iowa, claimed second honors for the second-consecutive year as she became the program's career leader in digs. Named Iowa Conference Performer of the Week as a libero three times (Oct. 4, Nov. 1 and Nov. 9), Friesth has 2,277 career digs, with 581 coming this season.
Rounding out Simpson's postseason honorees was junior outside hitter, Amy Schuster. An Indianola-native, Schuster earned honorable mention all-conference honors after amassing 304 kills on the season. Schuster was a second-team all-conference selection in 2007 and 2008 and was named to the all-tournament team at the Puget Sound Premiere Volleyball Invitational this season.
After going 19-13 during the regular season in winning the Iowa Conference regular season championship, Simpson defeated Loras and Wartburg in the IIAC Tournament to earn a sweep of the conference titles. Simpson now prepares for its third NCAA Division III Championship appearance in four years, traveling to St. Louis, Mo. for the quarterfinal round of the Central Regional hosted by Washington University. Simpson will face No. 8 Carthage Thursday, Nov. 12 at 2:30 p.m.
