Four Tiger Volleyball Standouts Earn All-Region Honors

Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University volleyball standouts Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder), Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas), Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) and Jessica Batanian (Sylvania, Ohio/Notre Dame) have earned 2012 All-Great Lakes Region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

This is the first all-region honor for Seidenstricker, Batanian and Behling, while Gilene made her third appearance on the list. Seidenstricker, Behling and Gilene earned first-team honors and Batanian was an honorable mention selection. Seidenstricker added to her postseason haul with Great Lakes Region Freshman of the Year honors, becoming the third Wittenberg player so honored after Brittany Baume in 1999 and Monica McDonald in 2001.

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 Hope College in Holland, Mich.

Seidenstricker, a freshman right-side hitter, leads the Tigers with 319 kills and 35 service aces, and she enters NCAA Division III Tournament play tied for second on the team with 314 digs. In addition, Seidenstricker was charged with just 20 reception errors in 500 attempts, and she ranked third on the team with 57 blocks. She was previously named first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and the league’s 2012 Newcomer and Player of the Year.

Gilene, a senior libero, earned honorable mention all-region in 2010, first-team all-region in 2011 and third-team All-America in 2011. She also earned NCAC Libero of the Year in both 2011 and 2012. Gilene, the 2011 NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player and a member of the all-tournament team in 2012, leads the Tigers with 568 digs while committing just 21 reception errors in 591 attempts.

Behling, a junior middle hitter, finished the regular season atop the team’s statistics for blocks with 67, while ranking second in service aces with 22 and third in kills with 272. Her attack percentage of .343 leads the team and ranks among the best in the NCAC. She earned honorable mention All-NCAC honors before picking up NCAC Tournament MVP for her outstanding play in 3-0 sweeps of Oberlin, Wooster and DePauw.

Batanian, a senior outside hitter, enjoyed a breakout 2012 season. A first-team All-NCAC selection, Batanian ranked second on the Tigers with 275 kills and tied for second with 314 digs. She added 26 blocks while making just 16 reception errors in 427 attempts.

The Tigers, who captured the 2011 NCAA Division III National Championship, finished the 2012 regular season with records of 25-4 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the conference after winning their 18^th NCAC regular season and tournament championships. Wittenberg, ranked second in the nation, earned its 17^th straight NCAA Division III Tournament bid (18^th overall), which starts today with a first-round match against Ohio Northern.

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