Four Receive AVCA Regional Honors

Dec. 9, 2014

East Lansing, Michigan -- Four Spartans have earned All-Region recognition from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as announced on Tuesday, December 09. Senior libero Kori Moster (Cincinnati, Ohio) earns the honor for the third straight season, while sophomore Chloe Reinig (South Lyon, Mich.) and freshman Rachel Minarick (Naperville, Ill.) are first-time honorees. In addition, sophomore Allyssah Fitterer (Barrie, Ontario) was an Honorable Mention All-North Region pick.

"I'm very pleased to see our players honored for their hard work this season," said head coach Cathy George. "With such a young team, we had a tremendous amount of growth and development over the course of our season, which affects not only the freshmen, but also our returning players. Our strong finish was a testament to all of the hard work that all of our athletes put in from when we assembled for camp in August all the way through to the NCAA Tournament last weekend in California.

"While I am thrilled for our first-time honorees Chloe, Rachel, and Allyssah, I'm really especially happy for Kori - as a three-year captain, she has been an integral part of the growth of our program during her time here in East Lansing. Four NCAA Tournament bids, winning a game each year, and two Sweet 16 appearances during her tenure helps show what she has brought to Michigan State. She has received individual accolades along the way, but she and her classmates certainly leave the program with a much better national profile than it was when they enrolled. I fully believe that the honors for our young players will continually push us to strive for success on the national level."

Moster, a two-time All-America pick, Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection, and 2012 and 2013 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, recently wrapped her college career with MSU's 3-1 loss to top-seeded Stanford last Saturday. Among the top players at her position in the country, Moster will graduate with the Spartan career digs record (2,217), which ranks third all-time among Big Ten career dig leaders. Moster averages 4.62 digs per set, which ranks third in the Big Ten overall. She has held the school's career digs record since her junior season, and holds four of the top eight single-season dig performances in school history. Her 550 digs this season is fourth among single-season MSU marks. Over 10 career NCAA Tournament matches, Moster averaged 5.24 digs per set. Her career-best of 29 digs first came against San Diego in the first round of her sophomore season, and she had 26 in the this year's first round match vs. . LMU. Moster posted double-digit digs in 30 of the 33 Spartan matches this season, and in 137 career matches, she has been held with less than 10 digs only 18 times; six of those occasions were her first six collegiate matches. A part of the US Collegiate National Team which toured China last June, Moster has her sights set in competing for a spot with the US National Team.

Reinig, who earned All-Big Ten honors this season after being selected to the All-Freshman Team a year ago, averaged 3.7 kills per set in 2014, good for fourth among Big Ten players. She had just eight matches this season where she was held with nine kills or fewer. She has gone for 20+ kills four times this season, including in back-to-back matches vs. Michigan. She also posted her first two career double-doubles against Illinois (16K/10D) and Minnesota (13K, 10D), and had 34 combined kills vs. Loyola-Marymount (19) and Stanford (15) in the NCAA tournament last week. Reinig ranks fifth in the Big Ten in points per match (4.14/s), and was named to the All-Tournament Team at both the UAB/Samford and MSU Invitational Tournaments.

Minarick, the Spartans' first-year setter, grew by leaps and bounds over the course of the season. An All-Freshman Team selection in the Big Ten, she averaged 10.24 assists per set, good for fourth in the Big Ten, and during the NCAA Tournament, had two of her top three assist-producing matches, putting up 52 in a tough four-set loss at Stanford (three off her career best) along with 48 vs. Loyola-Marymount. The versatile first-year also averaged 1.16 kills per set while hitting .384 on the year, while averaging 1.95 digs and 0.58 blocks per set and leading the team in service aces (23). She earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 20, after 11.0 assists per set in two matches against Maryland and Rutgers, helping the Spartans to their first B1G weekend sweep of the season.

Fitterer earned Honorable Mention kudos on the All-North Region team. The sophomore has had perhaps some of her best performances in NCAA Tournament matches. Against Stanford, she shared the team lead in kills (15) while hitting .343, and she also had a 16-kill performance the previous night against Loyola-Marymount, hitting a match-best .444 and adding three blocks (one solo). On the season, Fitterer led the Spartans with a .277 hitting percentage, while averaging 2.73 kills per set (second) and 0.89 blocks per set, good for third on the team She was named the Most Valuable Player of the season-opening UAB/Samford Invitational, and was also on the All-Tournament Team at the MSU Invitational in the final pre-Conference weekend.

Michigan State wrapped the season with a 19-14 overall record, while finishing 11-9 in Big Ten play.

AVCA All-North Region
Name, School (Position, Year)
Abby Cole, University of Michigan (MB , So.)
Kaitlyn Early, Illinois State University (S , Sr.)
Kelsey Fien, University of Nebraska (OH , Jr.)
Kaitlyn Hickey IUPUI (OH , Jr.)
Jaelyn Keene, Illinois State University (MB , Fr.)
Rachel Minarick (Michigan State University (S , Fr.)
Kori Moster,** Michigan State University (L , Sr.)
Emily Orrick, Illinois State University (L , Sr.)
Mary Pollmiller,*** University of Nebraska (S , Sr.)
Chloe Reinig, Michigan State University (OH , So.)
Kadie Rolfzen,** University of Nebraska (OH , So.)
Daly Santana, University of Minnesota (OH , Jr.)
Emily Spencer, IPFW (OH , Sr.)
Paige Tapp , University of Minnesota (MB , So.)

Honorable Mention
Katie Dutchman, Northwestern University (MB , RS Sr.)
Allyssah Fitterer, Michigan State University (MB, So.)
Taylor Humm, Oakland University (L, Sr.)
Ashley Rosch, Illinois State University (OH , Jr.)
Sandra Sydlik, Temple University (S , Jr.)
Stephenee Yancy, UIC (MB , Jr.)

Freshman of the Year: Jaelyn Keene, Illinois State, MB
Coach of the Year: Melissa Myers, Illinois State