NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State volleyball team recapped a milestone 2018 season on Sunday night at its annual end-of-the-season team dinner.
Four Redbirds – Courtney Pence, Lexi Varga, Lexi Wallen and Ali Line – were honored with individual awards, voted on by their teammates.
Linda Herman Most Valuable Player – Courtney Pence
Pence, a senior libero from Springfield, Illinois, was named the Linda Herman Most Valuable Player after becoming the ISU volleyball program's first repeat American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American, earning an honorable mention in 2017 and 2018. Pence broke the Missouri Valley Conference all-time digs record on Nov. 9 at Loyola Chicago, finishing fourth all-time in NCAA Division I with 2,778 career digs to become the highest ranking player in the category to have played all four years of her career in the 25-point era.
Most Improved Player – Lexi Varga
Varga, a senior outside hitter from Rockford, Illinois, was named the team's Most Improved Player. She finished the season fourth on the team in hitting percentage (.209) and kills (229), and fifth in blocks (39.0). Varga reached double-digit kills on 10 occasions in 2018, registering a season-high 16 in wins against Valparaiso and nationally-ranked UNI. She led the offensive charge for the Redbirds against nationally-ranked Washington State, before tallying a team-high 15 kills in a four-set battle to then-No. 6 Wisconsin to earn a spot on the Marquette Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Kelly Meisner Courage Award – Lexi Wallen
Wallen, an outside hitter from Champaign, Illinois, was presented with the Kelly Meisner Courage Award. Wallen registered a season-high 11 kills in back-to-back matches against Drake and UNI at the MVC Championship tournament in 2018. During the regular-season, she provided the match-winning service ace against Valparaiso to help the Redbirds remain unbeaten at home. At the conclusion of the volleyball season, Wallen joined the ISU women's basketball team, making her first start against UNI on Jan. 6. She is currently averaging 17.7 minutes per game, while shooting 55 percent from the floor and to average 8.0 points per contest.
Kristin Kueltzo Inspiration Award – Ali Line
Line, a middle blocker from Bargersville, Indiana, earned the Kristin Kueltzo Inspiration Award for the first time in her career. Line was awarded a spot on the 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-America® First Team for her success in the classroom. The nursing major holds a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average and was selected as a Robert G. Bone Scholar – the top undergraduate honor bestowed at Illinois State – for the 2018-19 academic year. On the court, Line finished with a team-best 304 kills, averaging 2.64 kills per set on .325 hitting – the third-best percentage in the conference – to earn her first career All-MVC nod in 2018. She concluded her ISU career with the seventh-best hitting percentage in program history with a .287 clip, while ending her career in the top-25 in career blocks (327) and kills (963).
Illinois State won its 21st Valley title in 2018 with a nearly flawless 16-2 MVC regular season record as a part of a 25-8 overall mark. The Redbirds made their 14th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, earning the program's fourth at-large bid. Illinois State's 25 wins were the second most for the 'Birds since the 1988 campaign.
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