Tech's Meffert, Kenline and Blair win top OVC post-season honors
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Sophomore outside hitter Leah Meffert is the
Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, junior Katie Kenline is
the Defensive Player of the Year and John Blair is the league's
Coach of the Year. The conference announced its 2008 post-season
awards Wednesday.
Four Golden Eagles were included on the all-OVC teams, which were
announced in addition to the league's superlative awards. Meffert
and senior setter Kappy Lang were named first-team all-OVC, while
second-team all-OVC honors went to Kenline and senior middle
blocker Caitlin Bullock.
Meffert added an OVC Player of the Year award to go with her
Freshman of the Year award from a season ago, becoming the first
player in conference history since the freshman honor was started
in 1999 to win both awards in her career.
The Louisville native joins Kim Tunnell (1985) and Becky Murray
(1986) as the only Tech recipients of the Player of the Year
award.
"It's a pretty elite little club she's joined," said Tech coach
John Blair about Meffert's selection. "Certainly, she's done what
she needs to do to earn the respect of the conference coaches and
she's very deserving of the award and recognition."
Meffert ended the regular season campaign with 309 kills (9th in
league play) and 353.5 points (9th).
The Defensive Player of the Year, another relatively new honor
started in the 2004 season, was awarded to Kenline, a junior from
Ossian, Ind. Kenline led the conference in digs with 511, averaging
5.11 per set.
"There's a lot of really good defensive players in our conference,"
Blair said. "All of the coaches recognize the importance of that
position, particularly for success on our level. They've all gone
out to find a great defensive player and for Katie to reach that
level just says a lot about how hard she worked. That's been a goal
of hers and she's worked really hard to accomplish that."
Blair also took home the league's Coach of the Year award, becoming
the third Golden Eagle recipient of the award, joining Sharron
Bilbrey (1985) and Jennie Gilbert (1997).
"I've been a head coach for 26 years and it's a first for me,"
Blair said. "It's a credit to the team, because you don't win the
award if the team doesn't do what they're supposed to do. It sounds
kind of trite, but it's really a humbling experience. I respect all
of the coaches in our conference.
"I feel really fortunate to be where I'm at in this point of my
career in a league where the coaches care about their teams and
their players. It's not all about wins and losses. It's about
seeing them through and seeing them develop and learn life lessons
along the way. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't be at Tennessee
Tech right now."
Lang, the team's setter from Muncie, Ind., led the conference in
assists with 1,094 over 102 sets, an average of 10.73. Lang was
also ninth in the conference in service aces, collecting 25 in the
season.
Joining Kenline on the second-team, Bullock hails from Aubrey,
Texas. She ranked seventh in the conference in hitting percentage
with a .270 mark, and was eighth in blocks. Bullock had 28 solo and
48 assisted stops, an average of 0.75 per set.
Kenline and Meffert were both second-team selections a year
ago.
"This team, from day one, had their minds made up that they were
going to do what they could," Blair said. "I don't think they've
overachieved at all. What they've done is set out to be the players
and the team they can be. It's one of those years where a lot of
things aligned. We made it through without a lot of injuries. We
did everything we were supposed to do. Everything fell in
line."
The OVC Tournament begins Thursday night at Tech's Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles, as well as Morehead State, have a first round
bye and will play on Friday.
Thomas Corhern of the Cookeville Herald-Citizen gathered the
quotations and contributed information for this story.
