SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Four Bruins, along with head coach Trish Siedlik, were honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as the all-North Central Region honors were announced today by the AVCA in conjunction with the NAIA National Championship.
Bruins who earned first-team all-Region accolades included junior rightside hitter Kealy Kiviniemi, junior outside hitter Eve Fountain, junior middle blocker Savanna Berger, and senior middle blocker Haley Fleischman. In addition, Kiviniemi was named the North Central Region Player of the Year.
Siedlik earned her fifth North Central Region Coach of the Year honor after guiding the Bruins to the North Star Athletic Association regular season and tournament titles and to BU's 17th appearance in the NAIA National Championship.
Kiviniemi was named the NSAA Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year while garnering first-team all-NSAA honors for the second straight season. A four-time NSAA Attacker of the Week, Kiviniemi led the team and the NSAA with 423 kills, 3.50 kps, and a .365 hitting percentage. She is third on the team with 68 total blocks. Kiviniemi was named the NSAA Attacker of the Week four times. She registered double-digit kills in 27 matches, including 17 straight from Sept. 27 to Dec. 4.
Fountain, who earned her fourth first-team all-NSAA honor, is second on the team with 391 kills (3.34 kps) and 398 digs (3.40 dpg). She leads the team with 13 double-doubles. Fountain recorded a season-high 21 kills along with 25 digs and two blocks in BU's five-set win over Dakota State on Sept. 20. Fountain garnered NSAA Attacker of the Week accolades twice during the season.
Berger leads the Bruins with 95 total blocks (0.98 bps) and is second on the team with a .354 hitting percentage and fourth with 173 kills. She had three-straight matches with double-figure kill totals, including a season-high 16 kills on .565 hitting in the Bruins' 3-1 win over Ottawa (Kan.) on Oct. 11. Berger has hit .400 or above in 15 matches this season.
Fleischman, who earned her third first-team all-NSAA honor of her career this season, is third on the team with a .351 hitting percentage and 0.76 blocks per set. She recorded 154 kills, 71 blocks, 36 digs, and 20 assists on the season. Fleischman had just two attacking errors (in nine matches) during the month of October.
The Bruins (30-4) are currently in Pool Play action at the NAIA National Championship. Following the 7:30 p.m. session tonight, the Bruins will battle Marian University in a tiebreaker set to 25. The winner of that match will take on Providence in a set to 25 to determine the Pool E winner and who will advance to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship. Bracket play begins on Saturday.
