April 20, 2008

Washington, D.C. - The Georgetown University volleyball team celebrated the accomplishments of the 2007 season as they hosted the Annual Side Out Club Banquet on Saturday, April 19 in the Faculty Club of the Leavey Center. With players, coaches, staff, parents and friends in attendance, Head Coach Arlisa Hagan Williams gave out seven team awards and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach Mike Hill gave out one award. The team welcomed two new assistant coaches with Lynnette Moster and Jake Lawrence in attendance.

The team had much to celebrate after a season that lived up to Hagan Williams' mantra of, "Georgetown Volleyball: Growing to Greatness." The team stunned the BIG EAST Conference with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Panthers. Battling through injury all season, the team was able to work through one of the toughest schedules in recent history and earned recognition as an up-and-coming team as the Hoyas successfully took a game off then-No. 21 St. John's.

In celebrating the 2007 season, Hagan Williams honored the team with seven awards. Since she arrived on the Hilltop, the team had never named a Most Valuable Player. The first recipient of the award during Hagan Williams' term is junior Caitlin Boland (Naperville, Ill/Benet Academy) who tallied an impressive 922 assists - even more impressive since she had not been able to start every match for the Blue and Gray this season. Her leadership on and off the court proved invaluable as her teammates voted her this season's MVP. Boland's efforts as the team's setter also earned her the award for Assist Leader and she now ranks third on the all-time career assist list with 2214.

The recipient of the Justine Metz Block Award, named after Justine Metz - a 1988 graduate and member of the Georgetown Hall of Fame who still stands at the top of the all-time solo blocks list - went to junior Katherine Niesen (Gainesville, Fla./Eastside). Niesen easily led the team with 108 total blocks, averaging 1.00 blocks per game. She ended the season on a 16-match streak where she recorded at least one total block per match and during that span, Niesen tallied a game-high 7.0 total blocks at DePaul for the third time during the 2007 season.

The award for Service Ace Leader went to sophomore Kortney Robinson (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) who led the team with 27 aces, averaging 0.25 per game. Perhaps best known for her jump serve, it was the variety Robinson produced that truly made her a threat on serve. Not only was she strong behind the serve, Robinson ranked second on the team in total points with 323.5, averaging 2.97 points per game.

Playing at either the libero or as an outside hitter, sophomore Jessica Hardy (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa) was the recipient of the award for Dig Leader. Her ball control on the court helped her lead the team with a 2.56 digs per game average and was considered the team's best passer. She also put up the squad's third-best mark in kills with 253.

A freshman, the recipient of the award for Hitting Efficiency Leader went to Vanessa Dorismond (Cary, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons). Leading the team with a .241 hitting percentage, Dorismond tallied 89 kills on 199 attempts. Her efforts made her a valuable asset and substitute off the bench.

Hagan Williams presented the award for Kill Leader to sophomore Dana Dumas (Nokomis, Fla./Pine View) who led the team with 286 kills to average 2.95 per game. Of the 32-game season, Dumas tallied double-digit kills 15 times.

Hill recognized sophomore Kiersten McKoy (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd) with the final award of the night - the award for Strength and Conditioning. Standing at 6-0, Hill was sure to note that McKoy is pound-for-pound, the strongest athlete on the team.

The Blue and Gray host their second spring tournament on Sunday, April 20 when they welcome Delaware, Howard, Kansas and Loyola (Md.) to McDonough Arena for a one-day tournament that starts at 9 a.m. This marks the end of the spring season.