Jan. 26, 2007

DAYTON, Ohio - The University of Dayton volleyball team took time to reflect on another successful season and honor some outstanding individual accomplishments during its annual postseason awards banquet on Thursday night at UD Arena's Boesch Lounge.

The Flyers finished with their 13th consecutive winning season at 22-11 overall record in 2006 and took home their third straight Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship with an A-10 West Division Championship this season. Included was a win over #18 Arizona, which was the highest ranked opponent ever defeated by UD in program history. The program also boasted the A-10 Player of the Year for the fourth straight season and the A-10 Setter of the Year for the second season in a row. A Flyer was also named to AVCA All-America honors for the fifth time in the last four years.

Four individual awards were handed out on Thursday night with senior Faye Barhorst being named the 2006 White-Allen Most Valuable Player. Senior Margo Moeller was given the Dr. R. Elaine Driedame Coach's Award. Redshirt sophomore Erin Schroeder was tabbed as the team Most Improved Player and sophomore Nicole Bateman won the "Nails" award, which is given to player who plays with extraordinary intensity.

Faye Barhorst earned her second straight A-10 Player of the Year award in 2006 to conclude a career in which she finishes as UD's all-time career leader in hitting percentage (.384), kills (1,796), solo blocks (173) and block assists (495). She earned AVCA Honorable Mention accolades for the third year in a row following a senior season that saw her hit a school-record .431, which ranked as the fourth highest mark in the nation. Barhorst was also among the nation's best in blocks and kills per game.

Despite appearing in just five matches this season, Margo Moeller served as an inspiration to her fellow teammates each day in practice and from the sidelines during matches. She appeared in five of the first six matches on the season and collected two digs at #12 Louisville. Moeller also had two kills against Tennessee Tech.

After redshirting 2004 season due to injury, Erin Schroeder came back as a key defensive specialist for the Flyers in 2005. She then converted to setter for the 2006 season and was honored as the A-10 Setter of the Year. Schroeder led UD to a school-record tying .255 team hitting percentage while ranking as one of the best in the nation and Atlantic 10 Conference in assists per game (12.38). However, she did not give up on her defense as she tallied 2.45 dpg and 57 blocks during the 2006 season.

Nicole Bateman transferred to UD from Louisville just before the start of the 2006 season and immediately made an impact. The sophomore was second on the team in digs (3.58) and third in kills (3.00) while tallying 15 double-doubles on the season. She finished as one of the nation's best in digs while recording the ninth most in UD single-season history (405). Bateman recorded a season-high 20 kills and 12 digs in a win over Saint Louis on Oct. 20.