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Allyssa Van Wienen Named G-MAC Player of the Year!

Allyssa Van Wienen Named G-MAC Player of the Year!

2019 G-MAC Volleyball All-Conference Release

No player dominated player of the week awards during the 2019 season like Allyssa Van Wienen.

Thursday night, she was justly recognized for an incredible season.

Van Wienen was named the 2019 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Player of the Year. The award was announced at the pre-tournament banquet, held on the campus of regular season champion and No. 1 seed Hillsdale College.

In addition, head coach Chris Gravel earned his third consecutive G-MAC Coach of the Year honor. Gravel just notched his 500th career coaching victory in Tuesday's 3-1 quarterfinal win over Malone.

Van Wienen, along with teammates Hannah Gates, Taylor Wiese, Lindsey Mertz and Karoline Shelton, were all named First-Team All-Conference. Sophomore Maggie DePorre was named Second-Team All-Conference.

This marks the third year in a row a Hillsdale College player has been named G-MAC Player of the Year, with Van Wienen keeping up the tradition established by Paige VanderWall, who was the 2017 and 2018 G-MAC Player of the Year. Van Wienen was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week a record six times, and currently has 343 kills, a .442 hitting percentage, 19 service aces and 86 total blocks. She hasn't had fewer than 7 kills in any match, and has registered hitting percentages of .500 or better in eight of the 23 matches she's played in this year.

Gravel's Coach of the Year honor marks the seventh time in his career he's been named his conference's top coach. He has guided the Chargers to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons in conference play, and this weekend, will hope to secure his sixth conference tournament championship, all since 2009.

Gates had been a two-time Second-Team All-Conference selection, which makes her First-Team selection this year all the more gratifying. Her 1.01 blocks per set led the G-MAC during the regular season, and she currently has 153 kills this year.

Wiese has been a First-Team selection three years in a row, and has distinguished herself as one of the finest defensive players in school and conference history. She leads the G-MAC with 5.96 digs per set, and needs just 10 digs to shatter Hillsdale's career record for digs, currently held by Megan Howard at 2,134. Wiese has recorded three matches of 30 or more digs this season and has two matches where she averaged nine digs per set.

Shelton has taken a major step forward in her sophomore year as an all-around contributor for the Chargers. She ranks second on the team with 273 kills and 323 digs, and is closing in on becoming a rare 300 kill-300 dig player this season. No Hillsdale player has hit that mark since Catilin Kopmeyer back in 2012.

Mertz, like Wiese, nabbed her third consecutive First-Team All-Conference honor. She leads the G-MAC averaging 11.33 assists per set and has 1,049 for the season. She guided an offense that led the G-MAC in hitting percentage during the regular season.

DePorre has come on strong in the season's second half, playing a big part in Hillsdale's conference title. She has four double digit kill matches, all coming since Oct. 25, and has solidified the offensive production from the outside hitter spot.

PHOTO: Haley Strack