Date Posted: 8/15/2007

Macon, Ga. – Belmont senior setter Colleen Nilson (McHenry, Ill.), the 2006 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year, was chosen for that same honor in the 2007 preseason voting, by the coaches, on Wednesday. Her Bruins were picked to win the regular-season title and to defend its A-Sun Tournament crown.

Nilson, the 2006 A-Sun Tournament MVP, and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, led the league in assists per game (13.36), and ranked second in service aces per game (0.50). Her assist total ranked 16th in the nation. Nilson enters the season as the Bruins’ all-time assists leader with 4,410.

Nilson will be joined on the All-Conference team by her teammate, middle hitter Jaye Schuler. The senior led the league with a .368 hitting percentage and paced the Bruins in blocks with 74.

The Bruins were able to outdistance themselves from the rest of the league in garnering half of the first-place votes. ETSU, the 2006 regular-season champion, finished second with Jacksonville taking third, each earning one first-place vote. League newcomer Florida Gulf Coast took in the second-most first place votes with three in placing fourth in the balloting. Lipscomb received the final first-place vote.

“To be honest, I was quite surprised that we were voted as the A-Sun favorite. The strength of the top teams in our conference, combined with our returning none of last year’s four passers, makes living up to the ranking quite a challenge,” Belmont head coach Deane Webb said. “That said, our goal each year continues to be to win our conference tournament and have the opportunity to play and advance in the NCAA tourney. We will work hard to reach our potential, and I look forward to seeing our team grow throughout the season.”

ETSU was the only other school to land two players on the All-Atlantic Sun team with senior middle blocker Callie Kiselich and senior libero Kaena Apana. Kiselich ranked in the top five in the A-Sun in hitting percentage (fourth, .348), and in kills per game (fifth, 3.48). Apana established a league record for digs in a three-game match with 31 on Oct. 21 against Lipscomb. She finished second to fellow first-team honoree, Ann Mullins of Lipscomb, in digs per game with 5.49.

Mullins, a member of first-team All-Atlantic Sun team and the All-Tournament team in 2006, averaged 6.21 digs per game to lead the league and good enough to rank 12th in Division I. She set an A-Sun record for digs in a season with 689, breaking the previous record 637, set by Mullins herself, in 2005.

UNF senior outside hitter Amy Stroder was finally able to put together a full season after three knee injuries limited her to 39 games total from 2003 and 2005. She played in all 33 matches last season and named second-team All-Atlantic Sun. She led the Ospreys in kills, (459) total attacks (1,421) and service aces (42). Stroder ranked third in the A-Sun in kills per game (3.86).

The final member of the preseason All-Atlantic Sun team is Campbell’s Femi Alabi. The junior middle hitter is the lone non-senior on the team. As a sophomore she ranked in the top 10 in the league in blocks per game (fourth, 1.08), hitting percentage (fifth, .328) and kills per game (10th, 3.32).

The Atlantic Sun Conference, headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Florida Gulf Coast, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF, Stetson, and USC Upstate.

Tournament Champion: Belmont

Preseason Player of the Year: Colleen Nilson, Setter, Belmont

Related Links:
 • A-Sun Volleyball