2009 All-Commonwealth Conference Team
ANNVILLE, Pa. - For the second year in a row, Lebanon Valley College had one of its student-athletes named Commonwealth Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. Junior outside hitter Joelle Snyderreceived the award on Thursday, joining Erin Yost '09 as Dutchmen players to receive the conference's highest honor over the past two years.
Snyder was one of four players to receive recognition by the Commonwealth Conference. She was joined on the All-Commonwealth Conference first team by setter Emily Perkins. Libero Angela Kuperavage and right-side hitter Jess Raber were named second-team All-Commonwealth Conference.
Also for the second season in a row, head coach Wayne Perry was voted Coach of the Year. This is his fourth selection as the top coach in the conference, as he was so honored in 2002, 2005, and 2008. This year, he guided the Dutchmen to their second-straight conference championship and trip to the NCAA Championships. LVC has posted a 31-2 record in 2009 with four in-season tournament titles.
Snyder led the conference in kills (366) and hitting percentage (.329) in her junior season. She surpassed the 1,000 kill mark for her career this season and currently ranks fifth all-time at LVC in kills with 1,175. Her career hitting percentage of .325 is tops by any LVC player. This is her third selection as first-team All-Commonwealth Conference and she is the first player in LVC volleyball history to win both Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year (2007) and Player of the Year (2009) in a career.
In her first season as full-time primary setter for the Dutchmen, Perkins led the conference in assists with 1,143 and her 10.49 assists/set were also tops in the conference. She has consistently been in the top-25 in the nation in assists/set all season. She has 2,241 career assists, fourth-most by a Dutchmen player.
Raber set a career high in kills on the right side in 2009 with 175. She was a consistent option in LVC's offense, stretching defenses and her hitting percentage of .242 was also a career best.
Kuperavage was third in the conference in digs with 511, averaging 4.56 digs/set during her first full campaign as a libero. She went over 30 digs in a match twice, with 30 in LVC's 3-1 win over PSU-Altoona (9/19) and 33 in a five-set win over Frostburg State (10/10.)
LVC begins its NCAA Championships play against Mount Union Nov. 12 at 5:30 in regional play held at Juniata.