Atlantic Sun Conference

Jacksonville Shines in A-Sun Sand VB All-Conference Honors

4/18/2013 12:00:00 AM

MACON, Ga. - Jacksonville University's No. 1 pair of Sammie Strausbaugh and Taylor Nyquist were selected as the A-Sun Sand Volleyball Pair of the Year, highlighting a strong Dolphins' presence in the postseason awards that also includes A-Sun Sand Volleyball Freshman of the Year Gabriela Roman and Strausbaugh as the A-Sun Sand Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

JU's No. 1 duo of Strausbaugh and Nyquist teamed up for a 25-3 overall record this season and a 7-1 mark in A-Sun play. The pair was named the A-Sun Pair of the Week on April 3 after they went a perfect 7-0 at the JU Easter Tournament with two wins coming over the No. 1 pair from third-ranked Florida State (March 21 AVCA poll). They closed out the regular season at the Fiesta at Siesta Key with a 7-0 record including a Gold Division Bracket Championship.

Two Stetson pairs join the Pair of the Year on the All-Conference Team: Julie Bassett/Kaley Melville (10-8, 2-4 A-Sun) and Alisha Hoffman/Catherine Coston (13-7, 7-1 A-Sun). Also selected are defending A-Sun Pair of the Year Anna Budinska and Dagnija Medina (10-6, 7-1 A-Sun) from North Florida and FGCU's Kaitlin Holm and Whitney Masters. Holm and Masters were 4-4 in their matches during conference play at both the 1 and 2 slots. They had the best record of any of FGCU's pairs.

A-Sun Freshman of the Year Gabriela Roman was half of JU's No. 3 pairs team that posted a 5-3 record during A-Sun play and bested FGCU's Olivia Mesner and Lindsey Childs, Stetson's Katie DiGirolamo and Jordan Dierickx and swept a pair of victories against Mercer in A-Sun play. The Dolphins added Roman's classmates Emily Laskelle and Thalya Pagan on the list along with Mercer's Molly Locke and Kendale Speyerer from Stetson.

As the A-Sun Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Strausbaugh is one of two Dolphins named Academic All-Conference, as she boasts a 4.0 in exercise science. She joins the North Florida quartet of Anna Budinska, Julie Trembley, Dagnija Medina and Britt Claessens, Stetson's Katie Digirolamo and Alisha Hoffman and Whutney Masters from FGCU and Mercer's Erin Brett as Academic All-Conference selections.

North Florida Head Coach Steve Loeswick claims his second Coach of the Year award, leading the Ospreys to an Atlantic Sun Championship in 2012 and the prorgrams' first regular season title in 2013. The Ospreys are 13-3 overall and 8-0 in A-Sun play and are the No. 1 seed in the upcoming A-Sun Sand Volleyball Championship, April 20-21, in Jacksonville at the JU Beach Volleyball Complex. The Ospreys will compete with the four other A-Sun teams to be the A-Sun representative and the first conference champion to receive an automatic bid to the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championship.

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