Six All-Conference, Kepler Player of the Year, Pavlik Coach of the Year

By: Laura Chapman
Assistant Sports Information Director
chapmal@juniata.edu • juniatasports.net

TOWSON, Md. – The Landmark Conference has announced the 2013 women's volleyball All-Conference recipients and Juniata College came away with four First-Team and two Second-Team members and both the Player and Coach of the Year awards, the league announced Thursday morning.

Junior Amelia Kepler (Kane, Pa./Kane Area) earned Landmark Player of the Year honors and senior Amy Miller (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and freshmen Nakita Gearhart (Waynesboro, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) and Kelly Reynolds (Upper Saint Clair, Pa./Upper Saint Clair) also earned first-team honors. Junior libero Brittani Young (Columbia, Pa./Hempfield Area) and freshman Mar-Jana Phillips (Carson, Calif./Rolling Hills Preparatory) were named to the second-team.

This is the second all-conference award for Kepler and she is the sixth Juniata player to be named Landmark Player of the Year in the seven years of the league.

"Amelia has had a really good year," said head coach Heather Pavlik. "She's made that transition from the opposite spot to the outside just beautifully. It definitely made us more potent offensively. She also blocks really well. Her serving has come up big for us at times this year especially during conference play. She distanced herself from a lot of the outside hitters in that she hit well, she served really well and I thought, at times, her blocking was overwhelming."

This is Miller's third all-conference recognition and the first time she has been selected to the first-team.

"[Amy] does everything," said Pavlik. "She passed for us, she plays great defense, she serves wonderfully, she's leading us in aces, she has really come along with her blocking, her offense has been outstanding and very very consistent. I think when someone is that consistent; sometimes they get taken for granted. We really shouldn't do that because she's had an exceptional year. The ability to have another outside hitter, who's terminating regularly, besides Amelia, is huge and Amy has been absolutely the heart of this team. She's been right in the middle of the ball control kind of stuff. Obviously, these hitters can't do much if the ball control people don't do their job. So Rachelle, Amy, Brittani, Bryce, have really aided the hitters in doing their job well."

Reynolds was named the top setter in the league averaging a conference high 9.98 assist per set in the regular season and league high 10.20 assists per set in conference play. Gearhart averaged a .421 hitting percentage in conference play and 0.88 blocks per set. She ranked just behind Miller in kills per set at 2.19. Phillips is the third Juniata freshman earning all-conference accolades this year, named to the second-team. She has averaged 1.79 kills per set and 0.64 blocks per set.

"I thought the [newcomers] had a great year throughout the regular season," said Pavlik. "They really did adjust and adapt to the collegiate game very very quickly. It was exciting to watch their growth and development every day. Our more experienced older players helped them out a ton a long the way and really aided in their development as we moved through the regular season."

Young ranked third in the conference in both total digs (486), and digs per set (4.34). She averaged 3.73 digs per set in conference play and came away with 56 digs through 15 conference sets played.

"Brittani has developed and come a long way even just on the mental side of the game," said Pavlik. "She has passed exceptionally well this year. She's handled me asking her to play both the five and the six extremely well. All of her ball control skills have really come along nicely through the year. She's also started to serve the ball extremely well. Brittani is really a fierce player and I think when she plays with confidence and plays that fiercely, it's infection for the rest of the team."

The Eagles finished the regular season 28-4 overall, 5-0 in conference play, and swept through the conference tournament to claim their seventh Landmark title and Juniata's 33^rd conference championship. Pavlik was previously a part of two coaching staff of the year awards as an assistant and this is her first recognition as a head coach.

"I think it's probably more staff of the year," said Pavlik. "Obviously, it takes a whole group of people in order to lead a team. I wouldn't be very effective if I didn't have great captains first of all. Amy and Rachelle have done an exceptional job of leading this team. My assistants are phenomenal. Steph is my right hand woman and I couldn't think of anyone better. Pat does a great job in our gym and is a ton of help on the bench during games. He brings something different to the table. He has a different personality than Steph and I and it really balances out the staff nicely. Beth and Steve are volunteers. They come into the gym every day as volunteers and add a ton, a ton, to the way we train. I can't thank them enough for all of their hard work and all of their time. The four of them were fantastic all year long. We also have [manager] Natalie Biesecker and I would be remised if I left her out. She's a wiz with the computer and the stats and that allows us to gauge our progress as we go through the year. She's been fantastic the entire way. Staff of six, really, did a good job.

Juniata is hosting the eight team Huntingdon, Pa. Regional of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament this weekend Friday-Sunday, Nov. 15-17, in Kennedy Sports + Recreation Center. The Eagles face off against Gallaudet University at 8 p.m.

For the full Landmark release, click here.

For information on the NCAA Regional, click here.

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