Bears See Five Student-Athletes Garner All-America Recognition

ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

St. Louis, Mo., November 19, 2008 – The No. 3 Washington University volleyball team had five student-athletes selected for the 2008 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America teams, as announced Wednesday by the AVCA. Senior right side Nikki Morrison is a first-team All-America selection, senior outside hitter Alli Alberts was named to the second team, junior middle hitter Erin Albers is a third-team All-America honoree, and senior setter Audra Janak and freshman middle hitter Erin Kasson were tabbed as honorable mention All-America selections.

With five student athletes garnering All-America citations in 2008, Washington University ties the school record set during the 1992 and 2005 seasons. Washington U. won the NCAA Division III national championship in 1992, and in 2005 the Bears were an NCAA quarterfinalist. This season, Washington University fell to No. 8 Ohio Northern University, 3-1, in the NCAA Tournament Great Lakes Regional final in Springfield, Ohio.

Morrison is an AVCA All-American for the third-straight year, and she garners first-team All-America honors for the second year in a row. One of the most efficient attackers in Washington University history, Morrison ends her career ranked 10th in school history in kills (1,276) and hitting percentage (.357). She saved what was perhaps her finest season on the Danforth Campus for her senior campaign, as she led the Red and Green with 361 kills and a .380 attack percentage in 2008.  After registering a team-high 14 kills on the Bears’ 3-2 win over then No. 1 Emory University in the 2008 University Athletic Association (UAA) championship match, she was tabbed as the UAA’s Most Valuable Player for the first time in her career.

Like Morrison, Alberts flourished as a senior, playing the best volleyball of her career. A six-rotation outside hitter for Washington U., she was third on the team in kills (305) and second in digs (396). The second-team All-America acknowledgement is the first of her career, and she also nabbed AVCA first-team All-Central Region honors for the first time. Alberts has received a number of other national accolades this season. She was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VII first-team, and was the AVCA Division III National Player of the Week on Oct. 7, which resulted in her being featured in the Faces in the Crowd section of the Nov. 3 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Albers had another strong season in the middle for the Red and Green, and earns third-team All-America honors after being named an honorable mention All-America recipient in 2007. She ended the season ranked second on the team in kills (322), attack percentage (.360) and total blocks (97). Albers was also a first-team All-Central Region and UAA selection, and was named to the NCAA Great Lakes Region All-Tournament team, after tallying 34 kills while hitting .418 with nine total blocks in the Bears’ three postseason matches.

Janak ends her career on the Danforth Campus a perfect 3-for-3 when it comes to All-America honors. She was a first-team selection in 2006, and a third-team All-America honoree in 2007, after transferring to Washington U. from the University of Georgia. With 1,256 assists in 2008, she ends her career with 3,493, which ranks fifth all-time at Washington University. Janak was also a first-team all-UAA selection this year, and like Albers, was named to the Great Lakes Region All-Tournament team, tallying 110 assists and 26 digs in postseason action.

The 2008 UAA Rookie of the Year, Kasson made quite an impact in her first collegiate season. Moving to middle hitter from the outside to start the season, she ended the year fourth on the team in kills (237), third in hitting percentage (.354) and first in total blocks (111). She saved one of her best performances of the year for the NCAA Tournament, tallying a team-high 14 kills while hitting .458 in the WU season finale against Ohio Northern.