November 1, 2006 
Contact: Mike Christie, Sports Information Director

USA South Volleyball Awards Announced

(FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.) - The USA South Athletic Conference has announced its All-Conference awards for volleyball.  A total of 20 student-athletes have been named to the USA South All-Conference team.  Christopher Newport's Brittany Collins has been named the Player of the Year, Samantha Kirby of Averett is the Rookie of the Year, Jenna Williams of Christopher Newport is the Libero of the Year for the second consecutive season while Averett head coach Danny Miller is the Coach of the Year.  The awards are voted on by the volleyball coach at each institution.

Collins, a junior setter from Richmond, Virginia, led the USA South in service aces and was second in the league in assists. This season she recorded 9.9 assists, 3.1 digs, 1.0 kills and 0.9 service aces per game.  She led the Captains to a tie for first place in the regular season with Averett. This is her second consecutive appearance on the First Team All-Conference squad.  Collins also earned Second Team honors as a freshman in 2004.

Kirby, a Lenior, North Carolina freshman, played an integral role in the Cougars capturing a regular season co-championship.  Kirby led the conference in hitting percentage with a .414 mark.  On the year, she averaged 3.7 kills, 0.9 blocks and 0.3 digs per game.

Williams, a Manassas, Virginia senior was the Captains' defensive specialist.  She was second in the USA South in digs with an average of 4.65 digs per game.  She was named to the Second Team All-Conference this year for the second consecutive season.

This is Miller's seventh Coach of the Year honor.  This season, he has led his team to a 27-6 record, including a 13-1 mark in USA South play which was good for a share of the conference regular season title with Christopher Newport. In his tenth year at the helm of the team, the Cougars enter the semifinals of the Conference tournament as the number one seed.

Player of the Year                                                                
Brittany Collins - Christopher Newport                                                              

Rookie of the Year                        
Samantha Kirby - Averett

Libero of the Year
Jenna Williams - Christopher Newport                                                           

Coach of the Year                                                                  
Danny Miller - Averett                                                            

The 2006 USA South Volleyball All-Conference Teams follow:

First Team	Second Team	Honorable Mention
Brittany Collins - Christopher Newport Samantha Kirby - Averett Lauren Smith - Greensboro Liz Bush - Christopher Newport Christy Renegar - Averett Kasey Carpenter - Averett	Mindy Altice - Ferrum Sarah Brown - Christopher Newport Brittany Insley - N.C. Wesleyan Ruthanne Clark - Greensboro Jenna Williams - Christopher Newport Kris Dunn - Averett	Sara Yeatman - Methodist Lauren Wells - Averett Ellen Koch - Christopher Newport Allison Weavil - Greensboro Joy Daniels - Greensboro Michelle Chandler - Shenandoah Jessica Flanagan - Ferrum Sarah Hunkele - Christopher Newport