Three Spartan Volleyball Players Earn All-Big Ten Accolades

Nov. 28, 2006

PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Three members of the Spartan volleyball squad garnered All-Big Ten accolades for their performance during the 2006 season. Outside hitter Ashley Schatzle was selected to the All-Big Ten Team, outside hitter Katie Johnson was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honoree, and freshman middle blocker Vanessa King garnered All-Freshman Team accolades. The trio mark the first Spartan All-Big Ten selections since the 2004 campaign when Maggie Griffin received All-Freshman Team honors, and Kim Schram received her second-career All-Big Ten Team honor.

"It is a great honor to have representation on the All-Big Ten Teams this season," Spartan head coach Cathy George said. "Last year we only had an honorable mention selection, so it's nice to see that people have recognized our players in being selected for the awards this season."

Penn State freshman Megan Hodge was named both the Big Ten's Freshman and Player of the Year, marking the first time in the conference's 23-year history a freshman has claimed the Big Ten's top honor. Minnesota's Malama Peniata earned Defensive Player of the Year accolades, while the Coach of the Year award was split with PSU head coach Russ Rose selected Coach of the Year by a 22-member media panel, while the 11 conference coaches awarded the honor to Wisconsin's Pete Waite.

Katie Johnson

Schatzle ranks second in the Spartan lineup and fourth in the Big Ten conference with 4.62 kills per game. The Monroe, Mich., native saw action in all 30 of MSU's regular season contests, posting a team-high 28 matches with double-digit kill totals, and a .300 attack percentage or better in 13 matches for the Green and White. Schatzle led MSU with four double-doubles in 2006, earned a career high with 25 kills in the Spartan upset of then-No. 16 Purdue in late November, and garnered her first Big Ten Player of the Week honor on Oct. 16 for her contributions in the Spartan sweeps of Michigan (Oct. 11) and Iowa (Oct. 14). Schatzle's 4.62 kills per game rank eighth on the single-season record chart, while her career kills-per-game average of 3.96 is sixth in Spartan history.

Johnson led MSU with 4.71 kills per game and finished the regular season ranked second in the Big Ten, trailing only Hodge (4.80) in that category. The Brooklyn, Mich., native contributed 26 matches with double-digit kill totals in 2006, including a career-high 35 versus Purdue (Sept. 22), which tied the second-highest total in Spartan history. Johnson reached the 1,000 kill plateau during her junior campaign, posting 22 kills against Minnesota in early October. Her 4.71 kills per game ranks seventh in the single-season record book, while her 4.24 career kills per game ranks second in Spartan history.

King posted one of the best defensive performances by a freshman in Spartan history. The Spring Lake, Mich., native saw action in all 30 of MSU's regular-season contests, posting double-digit kill totals nine times. King was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for her contributions in the Spartan upset of Purdue in late November, contributing 10.0 total blocks, including an MSU season-high four block solos. Her 0.97 blocks per game rank sixth in the freshman record book, while her .322 attack percentage is the highest total in Michigan State history by a freshman attacker.

Vanessa King

The conference office also announced that defensive specialist Miken Trogdon has been selected as the Spartan honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

State (19-11, 10-10 Big Ten) received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament and will travel to the campus of UCLA to face unseeded Utah (27-3, 16-0 Mountain West) in the first round on Dec. 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The complete list of All-Big Ten honorees can be found on the Big Ten Website,