Byers and Cedeno Named to PBC Volleyball All-Conference Team
AIKEN, S.C. - USC Aiken volleyball players Shannon Byers and Lauren Cedeno were both chosen to the 2009 Peach Belt Conference All-Conference volleyball second team on Saturday morning.
Byers and Cedeno received the honor at a banquet held at the USC Aiken Convocation Center as part of the 2009 PBC Volleyball Championship.
Byers (Morristown, Minn./Faribault) ended the year with a team-best 326 kills. The total places her in the top 10 in the Peach Belt Conference. Byers was second on the squad in 2009 with 325 digs. The freshman outside hitter averaged 2.70 kills and 2.68 digs per set in the first campaign in her first season in a Pacer uniform.
Byers collected double-digit kills in 15 matches. She obtained double-digit digs in 16 matches for the Pacers in 2009. She acquired 11 double-doubles (kills-digs) over the course of the season. The 11th double-double came in USC Aiken's PBC Tournament loss on Friday to Montevallo. Byers led the Pacers with 10 kills and 12 digs.
A senior setter, Cedeno led the Pacers in 2009 with 781 assists. The assist total places her in the top six in the PBC currently. Cedeno finished the year recording 40 or more assists in five matches. Her top match of the year was the 46 assists she collected in a match with Augusta State.
Cedeno's impressive career concluded with the Jacksonville, Fla. (Bishop Kenny) native acquiring 2,598 assists in her career in total.
Cedeno was third among Pacers in digs in 2009 with 245 digs.
A 2008 Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Selection, Cedeno finished with 10 double-doubles (assists-digs) in 2009.
Augusta State's Jessica Howard was named the PBC Player of the Year, while Armstrong Atlantic State's Kathrin Standhardinger the Freshman of the Year and sister Kristin Standhardinger the Setter of the Year. Lander's Ashley Ferry was named the Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year, while Flagler coach Taylor Mott the Coach of the Year.
Howard becomes the first Augusta State volleyball player to ever be named the Player of the Year. A senior from Athens, Ga., Howard moved into third place on the PBC's all-time list with 1,783 career kills. In 2009 she led the PBC with 504 kills, a career-high, and in blocks with 134. She is third in the league in hitting percentage and had double-figure kills in 17 matches in a row heading into the PBC Tournament.
Kathrin Standhardinger led the Peach Belt Conference and is ranked ninth nationally with a .398 hitting percentage and was seventh in the league in total kills with 294. A true freshman from Munich, Germany, Standhardinger was named the PBC Player of the Week on Oct. 5 and has seven or more kills in 21 straight matches heading into the Peach Belt Tournament. She becomes the third Pirate to ever be named the Freshman of the Year and the first since Kris Bringewatt in 1999.
Kristin Standhardinger becomes the first PBC Setter of the Year as the award was created starting with the 2009 season. A freshman from Munich, Germany, Standhardinger was second in the PBC and 46th nationally with 10.03 assists per set. She also averaged 1.07 kills per set and was third on the team with 290 digs. She was named the PBC Specialist of the Week three times in 2009.
Ferry is the first winner of the PBC Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year, an annual award that begins with the 2009 season. A senior from Woodbridge, Va., Ferry led the Peach Belt and is ranked 31st nationally with 4.91 digs per set. A PBC Specialist of the Week, Ferry had five games with 30 digs or more and owns three of the top five highest dig totals in the PBC this season, including a 38-dig performance against Erskine on Oct. 23.
Mott had the difficult task of guiding a team from independent play into an established Division II conference in 2009 and came through with flying colors as the Saints captured the PBC regular-season championship and the top seed for the tournament. In her 11th year at Flagler, Mott won 29 games, the second-most in her tenure, including 22 in a row heading into the PBC Tournament, the third-longest winning streak in conference history. The Saints lead the PBC in assists, kills and aces.
The 14-member all-conference team is listed below. The team was selected by the league's head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
2009 Peach Belt Conference
Volleyball All-Conference Team
First Team
Katie Beale, Flagler
Justine Burkhardt, Flagler
Katy Handrick, Montevallo
Jessica Howard, Augusta State
Melissa McCracken, Lander
Kristin Standhardinger, Armstrong Atlantic State
Meg Weathersby, Flagler
Second Team
Shannon Byers, USC Aiken
Lauren Cedeno, USC Aiken
Ashley Ferry, Lander
Anna Garrison, Montevallo
Casey Howett, Armstrong Atlantic State
Michele Remlinger, Armstrong Atlantic State
Kathrin Standhardinger, Armstrong Atlantic State
Setter of the Year: Kristin Standhardinger, AASU
Libero/Defensive Specialist of the Year: Ashley Ferry, Lander
Player of the Year: Jessica Howard, Augsuta State
Freshman of the Year: Kathrin Standhardinger, AASU
Coach of the Year: Taylor Mott, Flagler
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