BATON ROUGE — LSU head coach Fran Flory and setter Daniela Romero took home the state’s top volleyball honors, being named the Coach and Player of the Year respectively, as the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association named the 14-member All-Louisiana team on Saturday.
In addition, Jayne Duncan of New Orleans and Kelly Fridge of Loyola shared the inaugural Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year award, while Louisiana-Monroe’s Ilima Sam Fong was named the Newcomer of the Year and LSU’s Lauren DeGirolamo earned Freshman of the Year honors.
The LSWA All-Louisiana volleyball team was selected by sports information representatives from the state’s 14 volleyball-playing institutions from nominations submitted by the volleyball contacts at those schools. Two six-member teams, plus two liberos, with honorable mention selections were chosen from those nominations.
Along with Player of the Year honors, Romero headlined the All-Louisiana first team. Joining her on the first team were Dobrila Kobacevic of New Orleans, Ksenija Vlaskovic and Sara Radosevic of Tulane, Shannon Phillips of Louisiana Tech, Atina Porter of Nicholls State and Fridge.
Members of the All-Louisiana second team include DeGirolamo, Melody Clark and Marina Skender of LSU, Tiffany Baker of McNeese State, Mary Seals of Loyola and Jessica Helgeson and Duncan of New Orleans.
Receiving honorable mention honors were Amy Whitehead of Nicholls State, Ilima Sam Fong of Louisiana-Monroe and Cassandra Shivers, Lakenya Simpson and Shemetia Whitaker of Southern University.
For the second straight year, Flory earned the top coaching honor in Louisiana. She guided LSU to its second-consecutive, but first outright Southeastern Conference Western Division title and second-straight NCAA Tournament berth. The Tigers recorded the sixth-best winning percentage in school history and the best since 1990. With a 26-6 overall record, LSU tied for the most wins since 1991 and posted back-to-back 20-win season for the first time since 1992-93.
After starting the year out of the polls, the Tigers moved into the AVCA top 25 in the first weekly season poll and advanced as high as No. 10, LSU’s highest ranking since 1992. The Tigers have now been ranked for 13 straight weeks. In addition, LSU posted a 7-4 record against teams that are nationally ranked or receiving votes. Over the past two seasons, the Tigers have recorded the ninth best turnaround of the over 300 NCAA Division I volleyball playing schools.
A senior from Arlington, Texas, Romero led the SEC and ranked 12th in the NCAA with 13.41 assists per game. An AVCA honorable mention All-American and first-team All-SEC selection, she guided LSU to a school record for kills and assists per game, with the 12th and 14th most in the NCAA this season respectively. With 1,531 assists, she recorded the fourth most in single-season school history and became just the eighth player in LSU history to record 1,000 career digs. She finished her career ranked second in career assists.
A Metairie, La., native, Duncan led New Orleans with 618 digs, while averaging 5.02 digs per game. The Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-Sun Belt selection, the senior broke the Privateer record for career digs and digs per game. In addition, her season totals were good enough for second place in school history.
A senior from New Orleans, Fridge earned All-NAIA Region XII honors and was the NAIA Region XII and Gulf Coast Conference Libero of the Year. She led Loyola with an amazing 738 digs, which was the second highest total in school history. In addition, she broke the career record for digs, which ranks third in NAIA history.
An SEC All-Freshmen Team selection, DeGirolamo earned Collegiate Volleyball’s National Player of the Week honors on Sept. 19 and appeared in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.” The Belleville, Ill., native led LSU and ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocks per game with the third highest average in school history. In addition, she led the team and ranked 10th in the SEC in hitting percentage.
A transfer from Fresno State, Fong was the second-straight Louisiana-Monroe player to earn Louisiana Newcomer of the Year honors. The junior saw action at three separate positions on the year – outside hitter, setter and libero – and led the Warhawks in kills and kills per game. In addition, she finished with 11 double-doubles and ranked third on the team with 40 service aces.
Leading New Orleans in kills and service aces, Kovacevic earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors and was once named the Sun Belt Player of the Week. The sophomore from Belgrade, Serbia also ranked second on the team in digs. Against Delaware State, she recorded a season-high .533 hitting percentage with 17 kills.
Phillips led the Western Athletic Conference in double-doubles, recording 23 in 34 matches. The junior from Rowlett, Texas, posted the second most kills in a single season in Louisiana Tech history. Against Boise State, she recorded a career-best 30 kills. In addition, she earned all-tournament honors twice and attended the 2006 NCAA Leadership Conference.
Leading the Southland Conference with 507 kills and a 4.74 kills per game average, Porter earned All-SLC second-team honors and was once named the SLC Offensive Player of the Week. For the third consecutive year, this senior from Destrahan led Nicholls State in kills, attempts and hitting percentage. In addition, she led the team in blocks for the second straight year. She is in the top 10 in career kills, attempts, block assists and total blocks in Colonel volleyball history.
An AVCA honorable mention All-American, Radosevic earned first-team All-Conference USA honors and was a three-time C-USA Player of the Week. The sophomore from Zagreb, Croatia ranked fifth in the NCAA with 5.50 kills per game and was third in the league with 0.54 aces per game. In 11 of the 24 matches she played, Radosevic record 20 or more kills, including 13 double-doubles.
The AVCA Midwest Region and Conference USA Freshman of the Year, Vlaskovic also earned AVCA honorable mention All-Midwest Region honors and was a second-team All-Conference USA selection. The native of Pozarevac, Serbia, ranked ninth in the league in kills. In 23 of Tulane’s 26 matches, she recorded double-digit kills, including a pair of matches with 20 or more kills.
2006 LSWA All-Louisiana Selections
First Team
Name Position Class School Hometown
Dobrila Kobacevic Outside Hitter Sophomore New Orleans Belgrade, Serbia
Shannon Phillips Middle Blocker Junior Louisiana Tech Rowlett, Texas
Atina Porter Middle Hitter Senior Nicholls State Destrehan, La.
Sara Radosevic Outside Hitter Freshman Tulane Zagreb, Croatia
Daniela Romero Setter Senior LSU Arlington, Texas
Ksenija Vlaskovic Outside Hitter Freshman Tulane Pozarevac, Serbia
Kelly Fridge Libero Senior Loyola New Orleans, La.
Second Team
Name Position Class School Hometown
Tiffany Baker Outside Hitter Senior McNeese State League City, Texas
Melody Clark Middle Blocker Senior LSU Colorado Springs, Colo.
Lauren DeGirolamo Middle Blocker Freshman LSU Belleville, Ill.
Jessica Helgeson Middle Blocker Senior New Orleans River Ridge, La.
Mary Seals Outside Hitter Sophomore Loyola Austin, Texas
Marina Skender Outside Hitter Sophomore LSU Zagreb, Croatia
Jayne Duncan Libero Senior New Orleans Metairie, La.
Honorable Mention: Amy Whitehead, Nicholls State, Cassandra Shivers, Southern University, Ilima Sam Fong, Louisiana-Monroe, Lakenya Simpson, Southern University, Shemetia Whitaker, Southern University
Player of the Year: Daniela Romero, LSU
Co-Defensive Players of the Year: Jayne Duncan, New Orleans; Kelly Fridge, Loyola
Newcomer of the Year: Ilima Sam Fong, Louisiana-Monroe
Freshman of the Year: Lauren DeGirolamo, LSU
Coach of the Year: Fran Flory, LSU