Date Posted: 11/17/2005

Macon, Ga. - The Atlantic Sun Conference today announced its Volleyball All-Conference Team, selected by the league's 11 head coaches. The six teams entering the 2005 Atlantic Sun Volleyball Tournament each have players featured on the All-Conference team.

Florida Atlantic captured Player and Freshman of the Year honors as Kelly Paiva and Katie Arvidson led the Owls to a 27-2 season and the A-Sun regular season title.

Paiva (Minas Gerais, BZ/Criminal Justice), a unanimous first-team All-Conference selection, was selected as Player of the Year after ranking among the nation's best in kills all season. Averaging 5.87 kills per game, Paiva is ranked second in the country. With 605 kills, she owns the FAU record for kills in a season and also recorded 345 digs. Paiva is the only player in A-Sun history to earn Player of the Week five times in one season as well as three consecutive weeks.

Arvidson (Franklin, Tenn./Undecided) leads the league in hitting percentage with a .331 average. The Freshman of the Year is also a first team All-Conference and All-Freshman selection. Teammate Casey LaRocca (St. Louis, Mo./International Business) also earned first team and All-Freshman honors en route to breaking FAU's assist record, racking up 1,259 assists. She leads the league in assists per game with 12.34.

Jacksonville's Eva Stoilova (Sofia, Bulgaria/International Business) was partially responsible for the Dolphins' turnaround this season. Despite Jacksonville's slow 1-9 start, the defending A-Sun tournament champions picked up the pace, finishing with a 15-13 overall record and an 8-1 conference mark. A unanimous first-team choice, Stoilova is among the league's best in kills and digs, averaging 3.20 k/pg and 3.57 d/pg.

Emily Kohler (Tallahassee, Fla./Health Science) of North Florida helped lead the Ospreys to a third place showing in their first season in the A-Sun and at the Division I level. The Division II All-American ranked ninth in the league in kills averaging 3.23 k/pg. The Ospreys finished 7-2 in the conference and 19-10 overall.

Belmont's Colleen Nilson (McHenry, Ill./Political Science) rounds out the All-Conference first team. Just a season ago, Nilson was named Freshman of the Year and first team All-Conference. Averaging 12.12 assists per game, she has recorded 1,527 and 339 digs this season.

The head coaches' choice for Libero of the Year was Lipcomb's Ann Mullins (Nashville, Tenn./Psychology). Mullins leads the league in digs and broke the A-Sun record for digs in a four-game match with 43. In 113 games, Mullins posted 584 digs, averaging 5.17 per game. She is also a second team All-Conference pick.

Coach of the Year honors went to Jody Brown of FAU. In his 11th season, he posted the program's best season record at 27-2. Brown guided the Owls to an unblemished conference mark, back-to-back regular season titles and the No.1 spot in the 2005 Tournament.

The 2005 Atlantic Sun Tournament kicks off Nov. 18 at 11 am at Belmont University.

2005 All-Conference Team

First Team
Kelly Paiva, FAU (Sr., OH, Minas Gerais, BZ, Criminal Justice)
Eva Stoilova, JU (Jr., OH, Sofia, Bulgaria, International Business)
Katie Arvidson, FAU (Fr., MB, Franklin, Tenn., Undecided)
Emily Kohler, UNF (Jr., RS, Tallahassee, Fla., Health Science)
Colleen Nilson, Belmont (So., S, McHenry, Ill., Political Science)
Casey LaRocca, FAU (Fr., S, St. Louis, Mo., International Business)

Second Team
Jennifer Sartor, ETSU (Sr., RS, Toronto, ONT, Exercise Science)
Sara Jacobson, Belmont (Sr., MB, Glen Ellyn, Ill., Accounting)
Ann Mullins, Lipscomb (Jr., L, Nashville, Tenn., Psychology)
Liz Kane, Mercer (Jr., L, Chicago, Ill., Undecided)
Lindsey Cleveland, Belmont (Sr., OH, Franklin, Tenn., Public Relations)
Magen Wood, UNF (Jr., MB, Tallmadge, Ohio, Early Childhood Education)

Player of the Year
Kelly Paiva, FAU (Sr., OH, Minas Gerais, BZ, Criminal Justice)

All-Freshman
Casey LaRocca, FAU (Fr., S, St. Louis, Mo., International Business)
Katie Arvidson, FAU (Fr., MB, Franklin, Tenn., Undecided)
Heather Kendrick, UNF (Fr., S, Sarasota, Fla., Engineering)
Ashley Collier, Belmont (Fr., L, Huntington Beach, Calif., Nursing)
Cara Wilber, Lipscomb (Fr., OH, Georgetown, Calif., Undecided)
Rebecca Orzechowicz, Stetson (Fr., OH, Miami, Fla., Undecided)

Freshman of the Year
Katie Arvidson, FAU (Fr., MB, Franklin, Tenn., Undecided)

Libero of the Year
Ann Mullins, Lipscomb (Jr., L, Nashville, Tenn., Psychology)

Coach of the Year
Jody Brown, FAU