Juniata Volleyball Earns Athletic and Academic Honors

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Juniata College placed four Eagle women's volleyball players on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Region team, which was released Thursday. In addition unior Beth Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area) has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Third Team for women's volleyball.

Junior outside hitter Amber Thomas (Ephrata, Pa./Conestoga Valley) received the third All-Region selection of her career, while junior setter Beth Kozak (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon Area) and sophomore libero Megan Sollenberger (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) were All-Region selections for the second time in their careers. Junior middle hitter Erin Albert (Philipsburg, Pa./Philipsburg-Osceola) rounded out Juniata's All-Region honorees as a first time selection.

Thomas currently has a team-high 444 kills (4.31 per game), and is ranked 43rd in the nation among Division III leaders in kills per game. She also has 290 digs (2.82 per game) with 19 service aces.

Kozak is Juniata's primary setter with 1,130 assists (12.84 per game). She also has 246 digs (2.80 per game), with 22 service aces and 38 total blocks. Academically, Kozak has a 3.57 grade points average in elementary and special education. She is the first Juniata player to be named to an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team since 2004, when former Eagles Carli Dale (First team) and Erin Wisor (Second team) were named to the squad. Kozak was also the only Landmark Conference women's volleyball player to earn Academic All-District honors.

Sollenberger has been Juniata's starting libero most of the season, and leads the Eagles with 735 digs (6.02 per game). She also leads the Eagles with 61 service aces (0.50 per game), and has logged 75 set assists this season.

Albert has been Juniata's most prolific blocker this season, with 109 total blocks (1.11 per game) with 31 solo blocks. She is second on the team in total kills with 340 (3.47 per game), and her .401 attack percentage ranks 10th in the nation among Division III leaders.

The Eagles have a 34-4 overall record, after posting a 3-0 win over Philadelphia Biblical University on Thursday afternoon in the first round of play at the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship. Juniata will face Christopher Newport University on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in a regional semifinal game.