Juniata Volleyball Lands Two On All-America Team

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Juniata College senior libero Megan Sollenberger (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and junior setter Steph Strauss (Penn Hills, Pa./Penn Hills) have been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America squads, which were announced Tuesday evening.

Sollenberger was a First team honoree, while Strauss was tapped for the AVCA's Second team.

For Sollenberger, this marks her third straight year on the AVCA All-America team; she was a Third team selection in 2007, and was named to the Second team in 2008. She heads into the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship with 658 digs, an average of 5.26 digs per set, and already has the school's all-time record of 2,771 digs. Sollenberger also has 35 service aces this season.

Strauss earned Second team honors for the second consecutive year, after a season in which she tallied 1,107 assists â?" an average of 10.25 per set. Offensively, she has 145 kills, 1.34 per set, and is third on the team with 47 total blocks. Defensively, her 257 digs is second-most on the team.

Sophomore outside hitter Drew Barnhart (Titusville, Pa./Titusville) and freshman middle hitter Kelsey Fuller (Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) were both named Honorable Mention All-Americans. Barnhart was Juniata's kills leaders with 365 kills, 3.38 per set, with a team-high 39 service aces and 39 total blocks. Fuller, who was named the AVCA Mid-Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year last week, was second on the team with 290 kills, 2.66 per set, with 254 digs.

Juniata (34-3) will face Trinity University (Texas) in Thursday's third quarterfinal match, which begins at 5:30 p.m. at John Carroll University's DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Story provided by Juniata Sports Information