11/30/03

Howden, Topic selected to All-Big 12 Conference First Team

Bethany Howden	Mira Topic

DALLAS - A pair of University of Texas juniors - Bethany Howden (Austin, Texas/Westlake) and Mira Topic (Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia/Vladimir Nazor) - were voted to the First Team All-Big 12 Conference, as selected by the league's volleyball coaches. Kansas State's Lauren Goehring was named Player of the Year and head coach Susie Fritz was chosen Coach of the Year, the conference announced on Sunday. Others receiving awards were Valeria Hejjas of Kansas State, Newcomer of the Year; Jessica Vander Kooi of Missouri, Freshman of the Year, Juliana Godoi also of Missouri, Defensive Specialist of the Year; and Kansas State's Laura Downey-Wallace, Libero of the Year for the second straight year. Howden led the Longhorns in kills this season with 500 (4.76/game) and was second in the Big 12 in conference kills per game (4.96). In league matches, the three-time All-Big 12 honoree added 2.03 digs/game and a total of 54 blocks, 27 solo and 27 assisted. She also chipped in 20 aces. Howden connected for a .215 hitting percentage after being moved from her natural middle blocker position to outside hitter from the season-ending ACL injury to Dariam Acevedo. She started all 20 league matches and played in all 74 Big 12 games. Twice this season, Howden recorded 30 or more kills (at Iowa State and at No. 10 Nebraska) and had 10 matches with 20 or more kills; she also had 15 matches with 10 or more kills, and added seven double-doubles on the season. Howden is only the fourth Longhorn to record 500 or more kills in a season, joining Dee Sance (1995, 1998), Topic (2001, 2002) and Kim Larson (1984).

Topic had 466 kills on the season overall (4.44/game), and a total of 317 (4.28/game) in conference action. The 2001 Big 12 Freshman of the Year also added 36 aces and 205 digs (2.77/game), and 42 blocks - 18 solo and 24 assisted. Topic had 11 matches in which she recorded 20 or more kills, including a 32-kill match against UT-Arlington on Sept. 11. The Longhorns outside hitter had 13 matches with 10 or more kills, 12 of which were also matches that saw her record a double-double. Topic, now a three-time All-Big 12 Conference honoree, was fourth in the Big 12 in kills per game, and was among the leaders all season in aces per game (0.49/game). Topic just missed recording 500 kills for the third-straight season, a mark which would have extended her school record of two.

In her third year at the helm of the Kansas State volleyball program, Fritz was selected by her peers as the league's best coach after leading the Wildcats to a 28-4 record this season. Fritz has compiled a 69-21 overall record, a 49-11 mark in Big 12 play and has notched her second straight Big 12 Coach of the Year honor. She was the fastest coach in K-State history to reach 65 wins (85 matches) and currently has the highest winning percentage in Kansas State history (.767). She also led the Wildcats to their longest winning streak in school history (16), most conference wins in a season (18) and most wins since beginning NCAA play (28), all this season.

Goehring was selected as Player of the Year by the league's coaches. The Wildcat senior set a new single-season and career record for hitting percentage with a .413 mark this season and a .354 career percentage. The .413 mark this season is tops in the Big 12 and has been among the best in the nation. She is currently ninth all-time in kills at KSU with 1,178 and needs just six kills to become K-State's all-time leader in kills by a middle blocker. A 2002 First Team All-Big 12 and All-Central Region selection, Goehring is also fourth all-time in block assists with 372. She has had 36 matches in her career with at least five blocks, 62 with 10 or more kills and 75 in which she hit .300 or better.

Valeria Hejjas, a junior, led Kansas State with 404 kills this season, a 3.48 kill per game average, in becoming Kansas State's first-ever Newcomer of the Year. In her first season as a Wildcat, Hejjas had 24 matches with 10 or more kills, two with 20 or more kills, including a career-best 22 on October 15 against Texas, and tallied two double-doubles. Her 48 service aces on the season ties for the eighth-best single-season total in school history.

Missouri's Jessica Vander Kooi received the Freshman of the Year award. She has started every match for Mizzou this season, averaging 2.38 kills per game, 2.77 digs per game and 0.81 blocks per game. She has had 10 double-doubles on the season, including a stretch of seven consecutive double-doubles. She had more than 20 kills twice, including a career-high 22 against Kansas on Nov. 5. She also had two 20-dig matches, one each against Nebraska and Texas A&M. Texas' Jenny Andrew (Houston, Texas/Kingwood) was also a strong candidate for the award.

Juliana Godoi from Missouri was named Defensive Specialist of the Year. The senior is averaging 2.27 digs per game and is fifth in the Big 12 with a 0.41 aces per game mark. She has had seven double-digit dig performances this season and reached 20 digs twice, including a career-high 22 in MU's win over Nebraska on Nov. 15. She had a career-high six aces against Iowa State on Nov. 19, and had three aces in five other matches this season.

Laura Downey-Wallace has earned Libero of the Year honors for the second consecutive year. Wallace currently is second all-time at KSU in digs with 1,394 in her four-plus years as a Wildcat and led the league this season with 478. The 2002 Big 12 Libero of the Year set Kansas State's single-season dig record with 558 last season. In her three seasons as a defensive specialist/libero, Downey-Wallace has had 71 matches with 10 or more digs, 40 with 15 or more digs and 21 with 20 or more digs.

Joining Goehring on the All-Big 12 first team are Melissa Elmer, Nebraska; Melissa Munsch, Texas A&M; Gabby Guerre, Kansas State; Josi Lima, Kansas; Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska; Monique Gerlach, Colorado; Valeria Hejjas, Kansas State; Lindsey Hunter, Missouri; Howden; Topic; and Shen Danru, Missouri.

2003 ALL-CONFERENCE BIG 12 VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Lauren Goehring, Kansas State MB 6-0 Sr. Fort Worth, Texas
Melissa Elmer, Nebraska MB 6-2 So. Fort Wayne, Ind.
Melissa Munsch, Texas A&M OH/MB 6-1 Jr. Columbus, Texas
Gabby Guerre, Kansas State S 6-1 Jr. Houston, Texas
Josiane Lima, Kansas MB 6-0 So. Sao Paulo, Brazil
Jennifer Saleaumua, Nebraska OH 5-11 So. National City, Calif.
Monique Gerlach, Colorado MB 5-11 Sr. Monarch Beach, Calif.
Valeria Hejjas, Kansas State OH 5-11 Jr. Kecskemet, Hungary
Lindsey Hunter, Missouri S 5-10 So. Papillion, Neb.
Bethany Howden, Texas OH/MB 6-2 Jr. Austin, Texas
Mira Topic, Texas OH 6-3 Jr. Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia
Shen Danru, Missouri OH 5-11 So. Shanghai, China

HONORABLE MENTION
Laura Downey-Wallace, Kansas State L 5-9 Sr. LaMesa, Calif.
Laura Jones, Texas A&M OH 6-2 So. Arlington, Texas
Lisa Martin, Kansas State MB 6-0 Jr. Hutchinson, Kan.
Kelly Johnson, Texas Tech OH 5-10 Jr. Fort Worth, Texas
Tisha Schwartz, Baylor OH/MB 6-3 Sr. Amarillo, Texas
Ashley Michaels, Kansas MB 6-1 Jr. Wathena, Kan.
(Others receiving votes: Sarah Rome, Kansas and Joanna Schmitt, Oklahoma

Coach of the Year: Suzie Fritz, Kansas State
Player of the Year: Lauren Goehring, Kansas State
Newcomer of the Year: Valeria Hejjas, Kansas State
Freshman of the Year: Jessica Vander Kooi, Missouri
Defensive Specialist of the Year: Juliana Godoi, Missouri
Libero of the Year: Laura Downey-Wallace, Kansas State