Daktronics Announces Volleyball All-Americans With Three Spartans on List

WAYNE, Neb. - On the heels of an NCAA Quarterfinal match with six-time defending national champion Concordia, the University of Tampa has three players named to the Daktronics All-American team.

Minnesota Duluth senior outside hitter Kate Lange was named the 2013 Ron Lenz Daktronics Volleyball National Player of the Year, an award that was presented to UT's Danielle Selkridge in 2012.

Voting for the award was conducted by NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).

Tampa was led by Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year and Daktronics South Region Player of the Year Berkley Whaley, who was named to the second team. Meagan Burke became a two-time All-American with a third-team selection as Jessica Wagner was honorable mention.

Joining Lange as Daktronics First Team All-Americans are two repeat selections - Concordia-St. Paul senior setter Amanda Konetchy and BYU-Hawai'i junior outside hitter Shih Ting Chen.

Other Daktronics First Team All-America honorees, all seniors, include outside hitter Kayla Koenecke of Concordia-St. Paul, middle hitters Amber Cannady from New Haven and Laura Iwuchukwu of West Texas A&M and libero Caitlyn Dean from Tusculum College.

Lange, a 6-1 senior outside hitter from Hibbing, Minnesota, led NCAA Division II this season in kills per game (5.41) and points per game (6.14). She was a two-time Player of the Year in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and led Minnesota Duluth to a 33-3 record and a trip to the Central Region final before falling to six-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul. Lange closed her stellar career with an astonishing 2,078 kills.

For a fourth straight season, Konetchy is a Daktronics First Team All-American setter for Concordia-St. Paul. The 5-7 senior from Victoria, Minnesota led NCAA Division II in assists per set for a fourth straight season at 13.22 while helping Concordia-St. Paul top the nation in kills per set and assists per set as a team this season. Konetchy also continues an All-America string at setter for the Golden Bears. The school has produced an All-American setter every year since 2005, joining former National Player of the Year Maggie McNamara (2006-09) and Cailin Terharr, a Second Team All-American in 2005.

Chen is the lone underclassman to be selected Daktronics First Team All-American. The 5-11 junior outside hitter from BYU-Hawai'I was a First Team All-American last season while collecting Third Team All-American honors as a freshman. Chen led the Seasiders to a 27-1 record this season and a second straight trip to the Elite Eight after averaging 5.09 kills and 5.66 points per game this season, ranking second in NCAA Division II in both categories this season.

The senior from Delano, Minnesota leads NCAA Division II in attack percentage this season at .405 and has posted an impressive .391 percentage during her four-year career for the Golden Bears. Koenecke tops Concordia-St. Paul this season with 3.67 kills per game and also averages 3.53 digs per contest.

The Daktronics Division II All-America Volleyball Team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition...the company also markets DakStats sports statistics software with programs for football, basketball and baseball.

The All-America Volleyball team is selected by the NCAA Division II members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA).

2013 RON LENZ DAKTRONICS VOLLEYBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
KATE LANGE - MINNESOTA DULUTH

2013 DAKTRONICS ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM
POS PLAYER CL SCHOOL HOMETOWN
OH Kate Lange Sr. Minnesota Duluth Hibbing, Minn.
OH Shih Ting Chen Jr. BYU-Hawai'i Yunlin, Taiwan
OH Kayla Koenecke Sr. Concordia-St. Paul Delano, Minn.
MH Amber Cannady Sr. New Haven Yonkers, N.Y.
MH Laura Iwuchukwu Sr. West Texas A&M Edmond, Okla.
S Amanda Konetchy Sr. Concordia-St. Paul Victoria, Minn.
L Caitlyn Dean Sr. Tusculum Fort Wayne, Ind.

2013 DAKTRONICS ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM
POS PLAYER CL SCHOOL HOMETOWN
OH Berkley Whaley So. Tampa St. Petersburg, Fla.
OH Abby Aiken Jr. Grand Valley State Onsted, Mich.
OH Juliia Pakhomenko Sr. Northwood Donetsk, Ukraine
MH Kayla Erickson Jr. Western Washington Gig Harbor, Wash.
MH Holly Hafemeyer Sr. Augustana (S.D.) Faribault, Minn.
S Ying Chun Chen Jr. BYU-Hawai'i Kaohsiung, Taiwan
L Samantha Hutchinson Jr. Western Washington University Place, Wash.

2013 DAKTRONICS ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM
POS PLAYER CL SCHOOL HOMETOWN
OH Anna Hilton Sr. Wingate Hickory, N.C.
OH Jill Edwards Sr. Shippensburg Raleigh, N.C.
OH Taylor Sturms So. Colorado Christian Lone Tree, Colo.
MH Meagan Burke Jr. Tampa Jacksonville, Fla.
MH Brenna McIntosh So. Cal. State San Bernardino Yorba Linda, Calif.
S Danielle Johnson-Hazelwood So. Colorado School of Mines Cypress, Texas
L Cameron Hartson Sr. Dallas Baptist Midlothian, Texas

HONORABLE MENTION ALL-AMERICANS: Julia Ashen, California State - Monterey Bay (Outside Hitter); Marissa Cox, Washburn (Outside Hitter); Jessica Santaniello, Armstrong Atlantic (Outside Hitter); Jessica Wagner, Tampa (Middle Hitter); Maddie Huth, Angelo State (Middle Hitter); Kaitlyn DeStefano, Adelphi (Middle Hitter); Annie Reilly, Central Missouri (Libero); Meghan Binkerd, Indianapolis (Setter)