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For Immediate Release
Nov. 9, 2009
Kelley, Snopek Earn SLIAC Postseason Honors
EUREKA, Ill. – Third-year Eureka College volleyball head coach Sandi Kelley has been named the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and senior libero Lauren Snopek (Metamora, Ill./Metamora H.S.) earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, according to an announcement from the league following the SLIAC Tournament late Saturday night. Additionally, seniors Heather Myers (Eureka, Ill./Eureka H.S.) and Laura Willman (Metamora, Ill./Metamora H.S.) were named All-SLIAC Second Team, while Snopek was named Honorable Mention.
A native of Normal, Ill., Kelley led the Red Devils to an eight-win improvement this season after winning just four games in 2008. Picked to finish sixth in the SLIAC during a preseason coaches’ poll in August, Eureka exceeded expectations and recorded an 8-8 conference record for a fourth place finish, the only team in the nine-member league to place higher than its projected finish. Eureka was one of four teams in the SLIAC to improve its conference win total from 2008, and its four-game improvement was the biggest jump among conference teams.
Playing in her first year of collegiate volleyball, Snopek was a steady force for the Eureka defense in 2009. She averaged 5.41 digs per set to lead the SLIAC during the regular season. Including Saturday’s SLIAC Tournament semifinal, she finished the campaign with 678 digs. Snopek recorded at least 30 digs on seven different occasions during the season, including a career-high 41 digs in a five-set win at the Milwaukee School of Engineering on Sept. 19. Her 25 service aces during the season were fifth-most on the team.
Myers earned All-SLIAC Second Team honors for the second consecutive season. She finished her senior season with a single-season career-best 380 kills and finished third in the SLIAC during the regular season with 3.23 kills per set. Myers ended her Eureka career with 1,262 kills, the third-highest total in the history of the Eureka volleyball program. She was named to the SLIAC All-Tournament Team after recording nine kills in Eureka’s semifinal match against Greenville.
Willman was named to the All-SLIAC Second Team after making the switch from defensive specialist to Eureka’s primary setter at the beginning of the season. She was one of two players in the SLIAC during the regular season to finish among the top-five in assists and service aces. She led the Red Devils this season with 798 assists and 58 service aces, and her 138 career service aces rank seventh all-time at Eureka. Willman recorded a career-high 49 assists in a five-set match against Fontbonne on Oct. 3.
Eureka’s season ended Saturday after a three-set loss to Greenville in the SLIAC Tournament semifinals. The tournament appearance was Eureka’s first as a member of the conference. Top-seeded Webster won its fourth straight league tournament title later in the night with a five-set win over Greenville.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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