BATON ROUGE — LSU libero Elena Martinez was named the Louisiana Defensive Player of the Year as three Tigers earned first-team All-Louisiana honors, it was announced by the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association on Saturday.
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 and five honorable mention selections, were chosen from those nominations.
Tulane’s Sara Radosevic was named the Louisiana Player of the Year and Green Wave head coach Liz Kritza was the Coach of the Year. Amie Goodwin of Louisiana-Lafayette was selected the Freshman of the Year. Members of the All-Louisiana first team include Radosevic, Ksenija Vlaskovic and Jen Linder of Tulane; Martinez, Lauren DeGirolamo and Kyna Washington of LSU; and Shannon Phillips of Louisiana Tech.
Members of the All-Louisiana second team include Brittnee Cooper and Marina Skender of LSU; Mary Seals and Tiffany Stafford of Loyola; Bridget Wells of Tulane; Ena Payne of Southern and Lindsey Boler of New Orleans. Receiving honorable mention honors were Goodwin, Lakenya Simpson and Candace Southall of Southern, Talon Morgan of Grambling State and Sarah Cartie of McNeese State.
The Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year and AVCA honorable mention All-America selection, Martinez broke the 21-year-old conference record for digs in a single season and recorded the 11th most digs in a single season in NCAA history. Averaging 5.61 digs per game for the year, she leads the SEC in digs per game and ranks 35th nationally.
Against Alabama, she shattered the LSU single-match record for digs with 43. The New Orleans native recorded double-figure digs in every match and posted 21 or more digs in 30 of the LSU’s 33 matches. Only the second Tiger to ever record 30 digs in a match, she accomplished the feat on five occasions this season. Overall, she holds eight of the top 10 dig marks in school history.
An AVCA honorable mention All-American, AVCA All-South Region selection and first-team All-SEC honoree, DeGirolamo led LSU, ranked second in the conference and 19th nationally in blocks per game. The middle blocker from Belleville, Ill., also led the Tigers in hitting percentage and was second on the team in kills per game. She was named the Collegiate Volleyball National Player of the Year on Nov. 13 for the second time in her career, and was selected the SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 8. The 2006 Louisiana Freshman of the Year, DeGirolamo also earned second-team All-Louisiana honors last year.
A two-time SEC Player of the Week and first-team All-SEC selection, Washington led LSU and ranked fifth in the SEC in kills per game and second in service aces per game. The Houston native became just the 14th player in LSU history, and only the fifth junior, to record 1,000 career kills earlier this season. Leading the Tigers with 18 double-doubles, Washington posted 20 or more kills in five matches and 20 or more digs in two. After earning honorable mention All-Louisiana honors in 2005, this is her first appearance on the first team.
A member of the Mizuno Tiger Classic and Mizuno Invitational II all-tournament teams, Cooper ranked fourth in the SEC and 31st in the nation in blocks per game. On four occasions, she recorded double-doubles, including a career-high 13 blocks against Notre Dame. The sophomore middle blocker from Houston moved into the top 10 in single-season blocks per game and ranks fifth in single-season block assists. Posting double-digit kills in 19 matches, she also recorded seven or more blocks on 12 occasions while hitting over .300 13 times.
Becoming just the 15th player and only sixth junior to record 1,000 career kills, Skender is also only the 12th player in LSU history to record over 900 digs. Finishing the season with exactly 100 blocks, the outside hitter from Zagreb, Croatia, became the first outside hitter to hit the century mark in blocks since 1990. Recording 14 double-doubles, Skender posted double-figure kills in 19 matches and double-figure digs in 20 matches. She ranks ninth in career aces in LSU history and sixth in career aces per game.
2007 LSWA All-Louisiana Selections
First Team
Name Position Class School Hometown
Lauren DeGirolamo Middle Blocker Sophomore LSU Belleville, Ill.
Jen Linder Middle Blocker Junior Tulane Austin, Texas
Shannon Phillips Middle Blocker Senior Louisiana Tech Rowlett, Texas
Sara Radosevic Outside Hitter Junior Tulane Zagreb, Croatia
Ksenija Vlaskovic Outside Hitter Sophomore Tulane Pozarevac, Serbia
Kyna Washington Outside Hitter Junior LSU Houston, Texas
Elena Martinez Libero Junior LSU New Orleans, La.
Second Team
Name Position Class School Hometown
Ena Payne Outside Hitter Junior Southern Breaux Bridge, La.
Lindsey Boler Outside Hitter Senior New Orleans Destrehan, La.
Brittnee Cooper Middle Blocker Sophomore LSU Houston, Texas
Mary Seals Outside Hitter Junior Loyola Austin, Texas
Marina Skender Outside Hitter Junior LSU Zagreb, Croatia
Bridget Wells Right Side Junior Tulane Raleigh, N.C.
Tiffany Stafford Libero Senior Loyola Gretna, La.
Honorable Mention: Amie Goodwin, Outside Hitter, Louisiana-Lafayette; Talon Morgan, Setter, Grambling State; Sarah Cartie, Setter, McNeese State; Lakenya Simpson, Setter, Southern University; Candace Southall, Outside Hitter, Southern University
Player of the Year: Sara Radosevic, Tulane
Defensive Player of the Year: Elena Martinez, LSU
Freshman of the Year: Amie Goodwin, Louisiana-Lafayette
Coach of the Year: Liz Kritza, Tulane