Restrepo Named Conference USA Coach of the Year
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Restrepo Named Conference USA Coach of the Year CHICAGO
A pair of Southern Miss seniors -- outside hitter Andrea Bush and middle blocker Bridget Files -- were selected to the Conference USA second team, marking the first time that the team placed two members on an all-conference team since 1997.
Restrepo, in his third year with Southern Miss, directed the Lady Eagles to one of the best seasons in school history. Picked to finish 10th in the conference in the preseason poll, Southern Miss rolled off a school-record 27 wins and had just five losses, including an 11-2 league mark. The Lady Eagles finished behind co-champions Louisville and Cincinnati and gained a third-seed in this week's Conference USA Volleyball Tournament, which begins Friday at Fogelman Arena in New Orleans. Restrepo is the school's first to win the honor.
Files, a Ramona, Calif., native makes her first All-Conference selection, after posting team-best marks in several categories. Files led all players with 569.5 points and 137 total blocks. Files also has 446 kills this season, 37 aces and a team-high 364 digs. She currently is the school's all-time leader in block assists and ranks in the top 10 of a number of other categories.
Bush, a San Antonio, Texas, native who was selected to the All-Conference third team last season, was second on the team in kills with 456 and had a team-best 232 of those in conference play. Bush is the only player in the conference to post 30 kills this season. She also has 517 total points, 44 aces, 332 digs and 30 total blocks.
Cincinnati claimed three individual honors, including Player of the Year, Setter of the Year and Freshman of the Year. Tulane's Karlyn Daly earned Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
Cincinnati's Julie DuPont earned C-USA Player of the Year honors after leading the Bearcats to a share of the 2003 regular season title. Laura Lauder, who helped the Bearcats lead the conference in team assists (16.02 pg), was named C-USA Setter of the Year.
DuPont, Lauder and Daly were joined on the all-league first team by Louisville's Sonja Percan and Lena Ustymenko, USF's Shameka Mitchell, and Tulane's Deva Fowler.
Along with Bush and Files, the second team consists of Houston's Loure Dewes and Jaci Gonzalez, Marquette's Theresa Coughlin, Memphis' Brittany Barnett and Tulane's Anastasia Kenon.
Earning third team All-Conference honors were Cincinnati's Lindsey Garrison and Rachel Torblaa, Louisville's Bing Sun, Memphis' Tiara Gilkey and Heather Watts, TCU's Dominika Szabo and UAB's Martina Shields.
Myanna Hellsten of Cincinnati was named the Freshman of the Year. Hellsten was joined on the all-freshman squad by East Carolina's Jamie Bevan, Houston's Kelly McAnelly, Louisville's Anastasia Yartseva, TCU's Anna Vaughn and UAB's Bilun Gunal.
2003 CONFERENCE USA VOLLEYBALL AWARDS
First Team All-C-USA
Julie DuPont, OH, Cincinnati
Laura Lauder, S, Cincinnati
Sonja Percan, OH, Louisville
Lena Ustymenko, OH/MB, Louisville
Shameka Mitchell, MB, USF
Deva Fowler, MB, Tulane
Karlyn Daly, L, Tulane
Second Team All-C-USA
Loure Dewes, MH, Houston
Jaci Gonzalez, L, Houston
Theresa Coughlin, OH, Marquette
Brittany Barnett, OH, Memphis
Andrea Bush, OH, Southern Miss
Bridget Files, MB, Southern Miss
Anastasia Kenon, OH, Tulane
Third Team All-C-USA
Lindsey Garrison, L, Cincinnati
Rachel Torblaa, MB, Cincinnati
Bing Sun, OH, Louisville
Tiara Gilkey, OH, Memphis
Heather Watts, S, Memphis
Dominika Swabo, OH, TCU
Martina Shields, OH, UAB
All-Freshman Team
Myanna Hellsten, MB, Cincinnati
Jamie Bevan, MB, East Carolina
Kelly McAnelly, OH, Houston
Anastasia Yartseva, OH/MB, Louisville
Anna Vaughn, MB, TCU
Bilun Gunal, S, UAB
Player of the Year:
Julie DuPont, Cincinnati
Coach of the Year:
Santiago Restrepo, Southern Miss
Setter of the Year:
Laura Lauder, Cincinnati
Defensive Player of the Year:
Karlyn Daly, Tulane
Freshman of the Year:
Myanna Hellsten, Cincinnati
-- SouthernMiss.com --