Emory Volleyball Dominates All-UAA Team -- Natalie Schonefeld Named MVP

Seven members of the No. 2-ranked Emory University volleyball team have been chosen to the 2009 All-University Athletic Association Team.  Five players were afforded first- or second-team acclaim, while two were honorable-mention picks. The all-league teams were selected by the conference coaches.  Emory enters the upcoming NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 34-5 while finishing the conference with a 10-1 slate following its championship run last weekend in Chicago.

Highlighting the Eagles' school-record tying four first-team selections was sophomore setter Natalie Schonefeld (Riviera, TX), who was also named the league's Most Valuable Player.  The 5-foot-7 Schonefeld directed the team's offense with a deft hand, averaging 10.76 assists per set in helping the team to the No. 1 spot among league members in hitting percentage (.279). Her total of 1,377 assists ranks sixth on the school's seasonal chart and she was among the top 10 nationally in that category in the most recently released NCAA statistics.   She dished out a season-high 50 assists in a four-set win against Christopher Newport while her high-water mark this year in a conference match came against the Maroons of Chicago this past weekend. She has also distinguished herself defensively with a 2.19 digs per-set average.  She is the fourth Emory player to be chosen as the conference MVP joining Lulu Sewell (2002), Courtney Rose (2005), and Janet Bunning (2007). 

Senior Alysse Meyer (Stockton, CA) captured her second straight first-team nod and fourth selection to the all-league team with second-team kudos coming in 2006 and 2007.  The 6-foot Meyer is second on the team and 11^th in the league with a 2.77 kills per-set showing.  She has recorded 13 outings of double-figure kills and her overall 28.6 attack percentage is ninth among UAA players while her 32.7 percent showing in conference affairs is fifth.  During the UAA Round Robin II (Oct. 17-18), Meyer went on a hitting spree, averaging 3.38 kills per set and hitting 38.0 percent.  In addition to her hitting prowess, she paces the team and is among the top 10 in the loop in aces (0.33 aps).  Career-wise, Meyer is No. 3 all-time on Emory's career kills ladder with 1,569 and is 44 shy of tying for the No. 1 spot.

After landing honorable-mention status last year, junior Amelia McCall (Montgomery, AL) brought home first-team honors for the first time in her career.  The 5-foot-10 outside hitter has averaged 2.53 kills per set and owns nine contests of 10 or more terminations.  Emory rode McCall's hot hitting last weekend to the UAA Championship as she paced the team in kills with 15 in outings against Chicago and Washington University in the title match.  In her four outings at the UAAs, she averaged a team-high 3.36 kills per set and hit a solid 36.0 percent (47-7-111).

Rounding out the quartet of first-team selections, sophomore Jessica McAlvany (Roswell, GA) has had a dramatic impact on the Emory offense as the three-time UAA Player of the Week honoree has recorded a team-leading 3.17 kills set average in overall play, good for eighth place on the league's chart.  The 6-foot-1 McAlvany has produced a team-high 18 matches of double-figure kills including a 24-termination evening against NCAA Division II member Armstrong Atlantic that stands as the highest total by an Emory player this season.  She has hit 30 percent or better in 19 of her 34 matches and she holds down the No. 7 spot among UAA players with a 31.2 hitting percentage.

Sophomore Ali Wright (Matteson, IL) was the program's lone representative on the second team. The 5-foot-10 middle blocker has proved to be a formidable presence at the net with her 0.86 blocks per second ranking second on the club. In league matches, she upped her average in the category to 0.96 blocks per game. She has chalked up three or more blocks in 16 matches and enjoyed a six-block performance vs. Case Western in the UAA Round Robin II.  Wright has given the squad a boost offensively throughout the year with six performances of 10 or more kills including a trio of 13-termination contests.

Emory's honorable-mention choices were senior Vista Murphy (Laguna Beach, CA) and freshman Alex Duhl (Los Angeles, CA).  Murphy, a tri-captain, has played in 126 sets, second-most on the club, and has been a steady defensive influence with her 2.85 digs per set average ranking second on the team and 13^th in the UAA.  She has turned in 20 matches of double-figure digs and her total of 359 this year is 12^th on Emory's all-time list.  Duhl, a 6-foot middle hitter, has figured prominently her rookie season, averaging 2.08 kills per set while her 35.7 hitting percentage in overall play ranks fourth in the UAA.  Duhl paces the league in hitting percentage (.430) in conference contests and she will enter the NCAA Tournament as the team's leader with a 0.94 blocks per set showing.

Finally, head coach Jenny McDowell and her assistants, Justin Hart, Amanda Welter and Eric Hawes, were named by their colleagues as the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.

Emory will play either Randolph-Macon College or Trinity University on Friday (Nov. 13) in NCAA Regional action hosted by Southwestern University.