Six Eagles Earn SoCon Honors, Van Dyke Named Player of the Year
11/14/2012 7:50:00 PM | Volleyball
VIDEO: Kate Van Dyke">Interview with SoCon Player of the Year Kate Van Dyke
VIDEO: Meredith Paskert">Interview with First-Team All-SoCon Pick Meredith Paskert
VIDEO: Moriah Bellissimo">Interview with SoCon Offensive Player and Student-Athlete of the Week Moriah Bellissimo
VIDEO: Alex Beecher & Crysten Curry">Interview with SoCon All-Freshman Team Members Alex Beecher & Crysten Curry
VIDEO: Interview with Coach Chad Callihan about Eagles' SoCon Honors
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Georgia Southern setter Kate Van Dyke was named the Southern Conference Volleyball Player of the Year, head coach Chad Callihan was named Coach of the Year and four more Eagles earned SoCon honors, the league announced today.
Van Dyke (right) was also named first-team All-SoCon and becomes the first volleyball player in league history to be named first-team all-conference all four years. The senior is the first Eagle to be named Player of the Year since Martina Veiglova in 2003.
Senior Meredith Paskert joined Van Dyke on the first team, while senior Moriah Bellissimo was named second-team All-SoCon. Alexandra Beecher and Crysten Curry were named to the All-Freshmen Team.
Van Dyke ranks 23rd in the country in assists per set with 11.29 and has 313 digs, 104 kills and 58 blocks this season. Already the Georgia Southern career assist leader with 5,252, her 1,253 helpers this year are the fifth most in a season in school history.
Paskert leads the Eagles in kills with 400 and averages 3.48 per set. The senior outside hitter is hitting .342 and averaging 4.02 kills a set during the Eagles' current 12-match win streak. She has posted double-figure kills in all 12 matches with a high of 22 at Samford Oct. 20.
Bellissimo is averaging 2.87 kills and 3.01 digs a set and has recorded 10 double-doubles this season. The senior outside hitter was named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week Monday and was also recently named Capital One Academic All-District by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Beecher averages 4.87 digs per set, and her 560 digs this season are the second most at GSU, 37 behind Megan Lippi, who posted 597 in 2003. Beecher is averaging 5.20 digs per set during the Eagles' current winning streak and has posted 20 or more digs in 12 matches this season, including four of the last six.
Curry ranks second on the team in blocks with 68 and leads the squad with 1.08 blocks per set. The middle blocker also averages 1.57 kills a set and is hitting .288.
Callihan led the Eagles to 20-plus wins for the third time in his five-year tenure at Georgia Southern. GSU won its first SoCon South Division regular-season title since 2003 and the third in program history. Callihan now has over 100 victories at Georgia Southern and earns Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his career. He won the honor in 2004 when he led Appalachian State to a 26-8 record, a 15-1 SoCon mark and a North Division title.
Georgia Southern (24-6, 15-1), which has won 17 of its last 18 matches, earned the No.1 seed in the SoCon South Division and will play UNCG (13-15, 7-9), the fourth seed from the North Division, in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament Saturday, Nov. 17, at 12:30 p.m. The tournament is in Belk Arena on the campus of Davidson College.
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