Three Wittenberg Volleyball Standouts Earn All-Region Honors

Katie Sumner

Kimmie Dyer

Christina Gilene

Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University volleyball standouts Katie Sumner, class of 2012 from Dublin, Ohio, Kimmie Dyer, class of 2012 from Copley, Ohio, and Christina Gilene, class of 2013 from Milford, Ohio, have earned All-Great Lakes Region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

This is the first all-region honor for Dyer and the second each for Sumner and Gilene. All three earned first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors for their 2011 achievements, after Sumner was a first-team selection and Gilene picked up honorable mention in 2010. Student-athletes who make the first-team in regional voting are automatically considered for All-America awards, which are announced at the AVCA's annual banquet the night before the national quarterfinal matches, hosted this year by Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

 Sumner, a second-team All-America selection in 2010, was recently named North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year. Sumner led Wittenberg in the regular season with 86 blocks (0.97 per set) and to go along with 190 kills (third on the team), 20 service aces (fourth on the team) and 61 digs. Her attack percentage was a team-best .349 (minimum of 200 attack attempts) and she is on pace to finish in the top three in school history for career attack percentage. She earned first-team All-NCAC honors three straight years.

Gilene was named NCAC Libero of the Year after leading the Tigers and ranking third in the conference with 489 digs. While appearing in a team-high 104 sets during the regular season, Gilene made just 20 service reception errors in nearly 500 attempts, and she contributed 27 service aces to rank third on the team.  Gilene was named NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player for her contributions to the Tigers' sweeps of Wooster and Hiram in that competition.

Dyer earned first-team All-NCAC in 2011 after topping the team in kills with 289 and ranking second in digs with 254. She also added 42 service aces to rank second on the team, and her .280 attack percentage was third-best on the team and ranked 10th in the conference. Dyer was credited with just eight reception errors in 290 attempts during the 2011 season.

The Tigers finished the 2011 regular season with records of 31-3 overall a perfect 16-0 in the conference after winning their 17th NCAC regular season and tournament championships. Wittenberg earned its 16th straight NCAA Division III Tournament bid (17th overall) and advanced to the second round with a win over Rose-Hulman earlier today.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

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