Blazers Announce Awards, Captains

12/12/2007

The College of Saint Benedict volleyball team (8-3 MIAC, 21-11 overall) capped off the 2007 season by announcing team awards at the annual season-end banquet. Blazer players and coaches voted for the individuals they felt most deserved the honors of Most Improved Player, Best Offense, Best Defense, Most Valuable Player, and Coaches Award.

Two first-year players, outside hitter Kayli Schumacher (East Grand Forks, Minn./Sacred Heart High School) and middle blocker Laurel Heggernes (Mora, Minn./Mora High School), shared the award for Most Improved Player. Schumacher and Heggernes combined for 5.2 kills per game in their first season at CSB. By herself, Heggernes recorded 2.84 kills per game, a cumulative .186 hitting percentage and 33 service aces. Her consistent performance that frequently sparked the Blazer attack was enough to make her this year’s Best Offensive Player.

A combination of Blazer sophomores provided the bulk of CSB’s defense this past season. The duo, made up of outside hitter Emma Jaynes (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing High School) and libero Lindsey Grauman (St. Paul, Minn./Visitation High School), also shared an award – their’s was for Best Defensive Player. The pair combined for an average of 10 digs per game.

Blazer coaches selected sole senior and team captain Theresa Naumann (Columbia Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace High School) as this season’s recipient of the Coaches Award. As the only upperclass player, Naumann provided flexibility and experience everywhere the Blazers needed her throughout the season.

The Blazers voted their floor leader and offensive distributor, sophomore setter Beth Hanson (Fairbault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy), as the team’s Most Valuable Player. Hanson ranked third in the MIAC with 11.8 assists per game as she received her first All-MIAC selection. She was also number three in the conference in service aces with an average of 0.5 aces per game. Hanson even helped out on defense as she recorded 3.7 digs per game. She had a great impact on every aspect of the game and her teammates felt her influence. In the last match of the season, Hanson surpassed Niki Denne (CSB ’90) and broke her 20 year old single season record for most set-assists. Hanson finished with 1,286 assists on the season.

Hanson, Jaynes, and defensive specialist Andrea Millerbernd (Littlefork, Minn./Littlefork Big Falls High School) were named the captains of the 2008 Blazers. The trio of current sophomores will lead another young and aspiring team next year.

Team Statistics | Volleyball | CSB Sports

Peter Banick, CSB Athletic Media Relations Student Assistant

Athletic Department
College of Saint Benedict
37 South College Avenue
St. Joseph, MN 56374
320-363-5301
Fax 320-363-6098