BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The NAIA committees have announced their 2008 NAIA All-American teams for men's soccer, women's soccer and volleyball following each sport's respective National Tournament finals. Among the list for Bellevue University is senior, Candace Clow, who received the highest honor of those selected, as an NAIA All-American second-team selection. In addition to Clow, Mark Heath-Preston (Men's Soccer), Tom Garrick (Men's Soccer), Rachel Muller (Volleyball) and Whitney Ferguson (Women's Soccer) were honored as NAIA Honorable Mention All-Americans.
Leading the list was Candace Clow, a senior from DeBois, Nebraska who completed her fourth season as the Bruin setter. She was also named as the 2008 MCAC Player of the Year and led the team with her fourth straight 1000-plus set assist season. Candace helped led the Bruin volleyball team to a 14-0 conference record which included a regular season and tournament title en-route to their second straight NAIA national tournament appearance.
Another All-American on the honorable mention list for the volleyball team was Rachel Muller, a junior outside hitter from Omaha, Nebraska. Rachel led the team with 377 kills hitting .249, a career best. Rachel had 29 aces for the season including 447 digs which was second on the team. In 2008, Rachel eclipsed two Top-10 marks in Bellevue history, digs and kills with 1377 (7th) and 1110 (9th) respectively.
Representing the women's soccer team is Whitney Ferguson, a junior midfielder from Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Whitney, a NAIA All-American honorable mention, has played all three seasons under Andy Nicolarsen and finished with 3 goals and 2 assists for the 2008 campaign. The women's soccer team finished 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the conference playing in the 2008 MCAC tournament championship.
Mark Heath-Preston and Tom Garrick were honored as honorable mention NAIA All-American's for the men's soccer team winning the Independent Tournament to advance to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history. Mark Heath-Preston, a sophomore forward from Norfolk, England, scored a school-record 17 goals along with 7 assists, both team-high’s for the season. Heath-Preston finished with 3 hat tricks, 2 coming in back-to-back matches. Tom Garrick, a freshman from Lincolnshire, England, was second on the team with 9 goals. Garrick finished with 4 assists on the season placing him tied for fourth.
