KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced the 2014 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-America Teams, as chosen by the NAIA Volleyball All-America Selection Committee, Monday. Each team – first, second and third – consists of 14 members.
Biola (Calif.) senior middle hitter Amy Weststeyn was selected as the 2014 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Player of the Year. The Visalia, Calif., native is a four-time All-America selection, including being named to the first team in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Weststeyn, who was also named the Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season earlier this fall, led the Eagles to their seventh-straight appearance at the NAIA Volleyball National Championship. Biola reached at least the semifinals for the third-straight season, before bowing out to eventual national champion Park (Mo.) in a five-set thriller.
Weststeyn led the NAIA in hitting percentage (.433), while ranking third in total blocks (174) and 15th in total kills (490). She hit .400-or-better 25 times this year, including a season-best .750 in a five set match against fellow semifinalist Viterbo (Wis.) on August 16. Weststeyn is the first Biola player to earn the honor since the award’s inception in 1990.
Haley Pouliezos of Missouri Baptist was picked as the inaugural Tachikara-NAIA Libero of the Year. The junior from Imperial, Mo., was also named to the All-America Second Team – her first-ever All-America selection. Pouliezos played a key role in Missouri Baptist’s 38-4 record this season, which included the program’s first national championship quarterfinal appearance since 2006 – third all-time.
Pouliezos led the NAIA in total digs (971) and digs per set (6.7). She had double-digit digs in 35 of 38 appearances this season. Arguably, her top performance of the year came in a 37-dig effort against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) on Oct. 10.
Park’s Mike Talamantes was named the 2014 NAIA Volleyball Coach of the Year after leading the Pirates to a perfect 40-0 season that included the program’s first-ever national championship. He is the first Park head coach to receive this honor since the award was established in 1981. Talamantes was also named the 2014 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Coach of the Year following Park’s 3-0 win against defending national champion Texas at Brownsville in the banner match.
Northwestern (Iowa), Park and Texas at Brownsville all landed multiple players on the first team. The Red Raiders, Pirates and Missouri Baptist led all programs with three All-America selections each.
For more information on NAIA volleyball, click here.
2014 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Player of the Year: Amy Weststeyn, Biola (Calif.)
2014 Tachikara-NAIA Libero of the Year: Haley Pouliezos, Missouri Baptist
2014 NAIA Volleyball Coach of the Year: Mike Talamantes, Park (Mo.)
2014 Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball All-America Teams
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First Team (sorted by school) |
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Name |
School |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown |
|
Amy Weststeyn |
Biola (Calif.) |
MH |
Sr. |
Visalia, Calif. |
|
Reanna Schelhas |
Concordia (Calif.) |
MH |
Sr. |
Los Alomitos, Calif. |
|
Casey Loper |
Eastern Oregon |
MH |
Sr. |
Powell Butte, Ore. |
|
Yeniffer Ramirez |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
OH |
So. |
Santo Domingo, D.R. |
|
Mallory Dillon |
Missouri Baptist |
OH |
So. |
St. Charles, Mo. |
|
Kaitlin Floerchinger |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
OH |
Sr. |
Treynor, Iowa |
|
Brooke Fessler |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
S |
Sr. |
Pella, Iowa |
|
Wendy Romero |
Park (Mo.) |
OH |
Jr. |
Cojedes, San Carlos, Venezuela |
|
Juliana Barros |
Park (Mo.) |
S |
Sr. |
Ourinhos-Sao Paulo, Brazil |
|
Yang Yang |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
MH |
Sr. |
Yongan, China |
|
Vanja Joksic |
Texas at Brownsville |
MH |
Sr. |
Gornji Milanovac, Serbia |
|
Bjana Mitrovic |
Texas at Brownsville |
OH |
Sr. |
Novi Sad, Serbia |
|
Alicia Olson |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
OH |
Sr. |
Eau Claire, Wis. |
|
Shahala Hawkins |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
MH |
Jr. |
Denver City, Texas |
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Second Team (sorted by school) |
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|
Name |
School |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown |
|
Alyssa Mason |
Biola (Calif.) |
OH |
Jr. |
Redlands, Calif. |
|
Joclyn Kirton |
Biola (Calif.) |
OH |
Jr. |
Everett, Wash. |
|
Cayley Meiners |
Coastal Georgia |
S |
So. |
Mackinaw, Ill. |
|
Sierra Porter |
College of Idaho |
S |
Jr. |
Eagle, Idaho |
|
Brooke Simpson |
Columbia (Mo.) |
OH |
Sr. |
Scott City, Mo. |
|
Rachel Flynn |
Concordia (Calif.) |
OH |
Fr. |
Mission Viejo, Calif. |
|
Kamrin Gold |
Culver-Stockton (Mo.) |
OH |
Jr. |
Flint, Mich. |
|
Hannah Stone |
Davenport (Mich.) |
MH |
Sr. |
Hudsonville, Mich. |
|
Tamires Ferreira |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
S |
Jr. |
Barbacena, Brazil |
|
Zoraida Heredia |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
OH |
Sr. |
Yamasa, D.R. |
|
Megan Farley |
Midland (Neb.) |
S |
Sr. |
Syracuse, Neb. |
|
Haley Pouliezos |
Missouri Baptist (Mo.) |
Lib |
Jr. |
Imperial, Mo. |
|
Karlie Schut |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
Opp |
Jr. |
West Des Moines, Iowa |
|
Wanessa Siqueira |
Park (Mo.) |
Opp |
Sr. |
Rio de janeiro, Brazil |
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Third Team (sorted by school) |
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Name |
School |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown |
|
Alyssa Foster |
Cal State San Marcos |
S |
Sr. |
Portland, Ore. |
|
Emma Anderson |
Coastal Georgia |
OH |
Jr. |
Lincoln, Ill. |
|
Amber Getty |
Davenport (Mo.) |
S |
Sr. |
Wayland, Mich. |
|
Jessalyn Smith |
Eastern Oregon |
Lib |
Sr. |
Boise, Idaho |
|
Caraline Maher |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
MH |
Sr. |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
|
Allyson Wilbourn |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
Opp |
Sr. |
Fisherville, Ky. |
|
Mallory Livingston |
IU East (Ind.) |
OH |
Jr. |
Union City, Ohio |
|
Nadelina Nesheva |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
OH |
Sr. |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
|
Josette Glatt |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
Opp |
Sr. |
Bismarck, N.D. |
|
Ashlee Harms |
Midland (Neb.) |
Opp |
Jr. |
Glenvil, Neb. |
|
Allison Krus |
Missouri Baptist |
S |
Jr. |
St. Louis, Mo. |
|
Jordan Strickland |
St. Catharine (Ky.) |
S |
Jr. |
Lexington, Ky. |
|
Erynn Schuh |
Trinity Christian (Ill.) |
S |
Sr. |
Frankfort, Ill. |
|
Jessica Neves |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
Opp |
Sr. |
Mission Viejo, Calif. |
Honorable Mention (sorted by school)
|
Danielle Tombolato |
Ashford (Iowa) |
|
Beth Walker |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
|
Lauren Hoenecke |
Biola (Calif.) |
|
Kara Stamper |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
|
Taylor Fink |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
|
Kendyl Danelski |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
|
Tayler Hegg |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
|
Melissa Murphy |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
|
Jamie Reaves |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
|
Jenee Henderson |
Concordia (Calif.) |
|
Claire White |
Concordia (Neb.) |
|
Lindsey Dorsey |
Concordia (Ore.) |
|
Brianna Hogan |
Concordia (Ore.) |
|
Cailie Schultz |
Cornerstone (Mich.) |
|
Marcey DeHaan |
Davenport (Mich.) |
|
Kayla Bartman |
Dordt (Iowa) |
|
Brooke Wolterstorff |
Dordt (Iowa) |
|
Rachelle Chamberlain |
Eastern Oregon |
|
Evelina Abduakhmanova |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
|
Hannah Gray |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
|
Taylor Wells |
Grand View (Iowa) |
|
Alyssa McEwan |
Great Falls (Mont.) |
|
Katie Zoucha |
Hastings (Neb.) |
|
Remy Bucknor |
Indiana Wesleyan |
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Morgan Miller |
Indiana Wesleyan |
|
Naomi Walther |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
|
Audrey Dearien |
John Brown (Ark.) |
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Melissa Blair |
Kansas Wesleyan |
|
Kasey Clark |
Lawrence Tech (Mich.) |
|
Sarah Schilling |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
|
Casey Gates |
Madonna (Mich.) |
|
Courtney Calicdan |
Menlo (Calif.) |
|
Sofija Berezovska |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
|
Korey Krumm |
Montana Tech |
|
Annelise Rohrer |
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
|
Alexis Bart |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
|
Chanel Cantere |
Northwestern Ohio |
|
Kristen Macy |
Oklahoma City |
|
Allie Arnold |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
|
Carol Reis |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
|
Atanda Motada |
Southern Oregon |
|
Rebecca Just |
St. Catharine (Ky.) |
|
Anna Siruckova |
Texas at Brownsville |
|
Aubrey Bekendam |
The Master's (Calif.) |
|
Paige Moore |
Union (Ky.) |
|
Kelly Heenan |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
|
Bri Brinkman |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
|
Chelsey Driskill |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
|
Madison Serrano |
Westmont (Calif.) |
|
Fatoumata Dacosta |
Wiley (Texas) |
|
Rebecca Moustapha |
Wiley (Texas) |
|
Emily Becker |
William Woods (Mo.) |