NORFOLK, Va., November 14, 2013 – Hampton junior Vendula Strakova was named the 2013 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Player of the Year, the conference announced on Thursday.
Howard’s Katherine Broussard earned Rookie of the Year honors, while Florida A&M head coach Tony Trifonov repeated as the Coach of the Year. All honors were voted on by the MEAC’s head volleyball coaches and sports information directors.
Strakova led the MEAC and the nation with 5.74 kills and 6.60 points during her junior season. Strakova is among the top ten in the conference in hitting percentage (.317), service aces (0.52) and digs (2.77). She concluded the regular season with 14 20-plus kill performances, including a MEAC season-high 33 in a conference match against Coppin State. She added a season-best 24 digs in a non-conference match against Evansville.
Broussard recorded 366 kills, 307 digs (2.74 digs/set), 42 assists, 33 blocks and 32 services aces during her rookie season. She ranked among the top ten in the conference in kills (3.27/set) and points (3.71/set). Broussard registered a season-high 20 kills and 19 digs in a non-conference match against Saint Francis (N.Y.).
Under the tutelage of Trifonov, the Lady Rattlers recorded an unblemished 10-0 mark in MEAC southern divisional play and a 14-6 overall record. In his 17th year at the helm, Florida A&M was among the leaders in hitting percentage (.245), opponent hitting percentage (.179), assists (11.20) and kills (12.28). This is the sixth time that Trifonov has earned Coach of the Year accolades.
Joining Strakova and Broussard on the 2013 All-MEAC First Team is South Carolina State’s Desire Waller, Florida A&M’s Ginna Lopez-Chavez, Assata Conway and Stephanie Shulits of Howard and Coppin State’s Gabrielle Otero.
The MEAC Volleyball Tournament begins on Friday, November 15 at 10 a.m. The competition continues on Saturday with the semifinal matches scheduled at noon and 3:30 p.m.
The volleyball championship tournament will conclude on Sunday, beginning at noon and will be video-streamed live, for free, on MEACsports.com
For more information on the 2013 MEAC Volleyball Championship and for complete results, log on to www.MEACsports.com
2013 All-MEAC Volleyball Teams
As voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors
Player of the Year: Vendula Strakova, Hampton
Rookie of the Year: Katherine Broussard, Howard
Coach of the Year: Tony Trifonov, Florida A&M