PERRIN NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR; HOFER COACH OF THE YEAR

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011
CANADA WEST AWARDS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PERRIN NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR; HOFER COACH OF THE YEAR

LANGLEY, British Columbia – After the Trinity Western women’s volleyball team’s best regular season in school history, finishing 2nd in Canada West with a 15-3 record, four different Spartans were honoured with conference awards and all-star nominations.

Spartans middle Alicia Perrin is the Rookie of the Year and Ryan Hofer is the Coach of the Year while Kara Jansen Van Doorn was named a 1st Team All-Star and Amy Leschied a 2nd Team All-Star. This marks the first time a Spartans women’s volleyball coach has been named Coach of the Year and the second time a Spartans women’s volleyball player has received the Rookie of the Year award. The other one to earn the designation was Saralyn Raugust in 2003-04.

Perrin, a 6-2 Human Kinetics student from Creston, B.C., showed her skills as a middle blocker as she helped lead the Spartans to a second-place finish in Canada West, at 15-3.

In her very first match, Perrin had seven blocks, five kills, four digs and a service ace against then-No. 6 ranked UBC. She went on to finish second in CW in blocks, with 1.26 per set, and ninth in hitting percentage (.250). She also had second-highest blocks in a Canada West match this season, with 11 on Nov. 13.

“Alicia has established herself as one of the top middles in Canada West. She is a fierce competitor who has the ability to dominate the net,” commented TWU head coach Ryan Hofer. “Alicia plays at the level of a seasoned veteran and has had a significant impact on the league and helped us become the toughest defensive teams. Her desire for team success outweighs her desire personal success, though she is well-deserving.”

Trinity Western’s Ryan Hofer had guided the Spartans to a second place finish, 15-3, in league play and the programs first ever CIS No. 1 ranking this season and for his efforts has been voted Canada West Coach of the Year. Hofer, in his sixth season with the Spartans, has built his program into one of the top programs in CIS. Defensively, TWU led the conference in opponent hitting percentage at .111 and was second in blocks per set at 2.53. Offensively, they were third in hitting percentage, at .215, and fourth in kills, with 12.09 per set. Hofer enters the 2011 post season with an overall record of 113-77, has had five winning seasons and is looking to make his third CIS championship appearance.

“What a great honour for Ryan, to be selected by his peers for this prestigious award. Ryan has set the standard for coaching excellence at TWU in a number of areas under our Complete Champion Approach. He has built an excellent expert-based staff around him, and recruited top student athletes who fit the high performance and high character culture he demands,” said TWU Director of Athletics Murray Hall.

In other Canada West awards, the league MVP award went to Shanice Marcelle, who has been a force for the UBC Thunderbirds in each of her three seasons with the team and this year stepped up to become the squad’s primary attacking threat. Marcelle, of Victoria, B.C., put together an impressive all-round campaign, finishing second in the league in kills (3.50 per set), sixth in service aces (0.45 per set) and in eighth in hitting percentage (.253). She also led the T-Birds in digs (2.74 per set) and was fifth on the team in blocks (0.53 per set).

Marcelle, a two-time CIS Tournament All-Star and former CIS All-Rookie selection, helped lead the three-time defending champion T-Birds to a 15-3 record, good for first place, and the No. 1 ranking in CIS. The cornerstone of the team’s first place result in league play, she is also one of Canada’s top beach players, having competed in two World Championships.

“Shanice is a gifted athlete and perhaps the most skilled player to wear a UBC uniform during my 15 years at UBC,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “She excels in all aspects of the game, making it very tough to say what her best skill might be.”

Brandon’s Donata Huebert is the Libero of the Year and earns the honour after arriving in the Canada West conference last fall and turning heads with her impressive play ever since.

The Minden, Germany product played in every set of every match for the Bobcats all year, averaging 3.92 digs per set, good for second in the conference. Her total of 259 digs contributed to the Bobcats’ third-place finish in team digs. What the statistics don't show is the passion and determination she brings to the court every day.

“Donata played extremely well all season long,” said Bobcats head coach Lee Carter. “She is the consummate professional. She trains hard, her work ethic is second to none and the way she plays the game is inspiring to both her teammates and anyone who watches her.”

Huebert came to Brandon after three seasons with TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen in her native Germany, where she was also a member of the German Junior National Team.

The Thérèse Quigley Award nominee as top student-athlete is Jen Hinze who is one of the most decorated UBC Thunderbirds in women’s volleyball history.

A First-Team All-Canadian in 2009-10, Hinze has been a major factor in the T-Birds current three-year run as CIS champions. This season she is averaging 2.14 kills and 1.41 blocks per set, having rejoined the T-Birds in January after suiting up for the Canadian National Team at the 2010 World Championships in Japan during the fall.

In addition to her numerous on court accolades, Hinze has been a star off the court during her five years at UBC. An academic All-Canadian in each of her seasons at UBC, she was recognized as a 2009-10 CIS Desjardins Top Eight Academic All-Canadian. Last year, she maintained an average of 88.8 per cent in Cellular Biology & Genetics in addition to volunteering at the International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), a spinal cord injury research centre at Vancouver General Hospital. She has also volunteered with UBC’s Varsity Readers program, the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, and is a mainstay on the coaching staff of numerous volleyball camps and clinics.

“Jen is incredibly humble and supportive to everyone, and combined with her work ethic, on and off the court, this makes her not just a good teammate but a valued role model. Young players might see her athleticism, but they don’t see all the work and focus that she puts in to be a great student and athlete,” noted Reimer.

Here are the 2010-11 women’s volleyball individual major award winners and All-Stars, as selected by head coaches across the Canada West conference.

Following are the individual award winners and All-Stars:

AWARDS

MVP: Shanice Marcelle UBC

Rookie of the Year: Alicia Perrin, Trinity Western

Libero of the Year: Donata Huebert, Brandon

Thérèse Quigley Student-Athlete Award nominee: Jen Hinze, UBC

Coach of the Year: Ryan Hofer, Trinity Western

ALL-STARS
First Team                                                         Second Team
Shanice Marcelle, UBC                           Jessica von Schilling, UBC
Kara Jansen Van Doorn, Trinity Western  Tiffany Proudfoot, Alberta
Ashley Voth, Manitoba                           Lauren Sears, Winnipeg
Jaki Ellis, Alberta                                  Sam Loewen, Manitoba
Teagan Hunter, Brandon                        Amy Leschied, Trinity Western
Melanie Miazga, Calgary                        Tricia Mayba, Manitoba

Award winners are now considered for national accolades, to be handed out by Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) at the 2011 national championship, hosted March 4-6 in Quebec City by Université Laval.

The UBC Thunderbirds host the February 25-26 Canada West Final Four in Vancouver, where they face Manitoba in one semifinal, while Trinity Western takes on Alberta in the other. The gold medal matches goes at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and the top three finishers will qualify for Nationals.

-CW-

Last Updated: 2011-02-25
Author: Mark Janzen
Email: Mark.Janzen@twu.ca