FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications
LEXINGTON, Ky. – While they've played their final volleyball match, the senior class of the Johnson & Wales University women's volleyball team continues to make history. The Wildcats continued to stockpile postseason awards with four American Volleyball Coaches Association All-America honors.
Senior middle blocker Kate Walker was a Second-Team All-America selection while senior outside hitter Maria Coniglio was a Third-Team All-America honoree. Senior setter Brylee Frank and junior libero Elyssa Nicolas were Honorable Mention All-Americans.
Coniglio and Frank become the first student-athletes in Johnson & Wales history to be four-time All-Americans. Walker is a three-time All-American while Nicolas earned her second award.
The program's all-time leader in hitting percentage, Walker leads the NCAA with a .417 hitting percentage. Named AVCA New England Region and GNAC Player of the Year, she was a three-time GNAC Player of the Week recipient. This season the Oakland, Calif. native averaged a career-high 3.18 kills per set while notching 0.83 blocks per set. Against Suffolk she became sixth player in program history to amass 1,000 career kills while breaking the JWU record with 234 blocking assists.
One of the best outside hitters in school history, Coniglio averaged 3.40 kps to move her up to second all-time at 3.22 kps. The fifth player in school history to eclipse 1,000 kills, she ranks third in JWU history with 1,319 kills and 1,537.5 points. Named GNAC Player of the Week on September 16, Coniglio had 14 double-doubles this year. The Old Bethpage, N.Y., native joins Annemarie Proto and Ashley Constantino with 1,0000 kills and 1,000 digs.
Last year's GNAC Player of the Year, Frank runs a JWU offense that is fourth in the NCAA with a .262 hitting percentage to go along with 13.14 kills per set, which rates 27th. A native of Palm City, Fla., Frank produced 9.86 assists per set, which rates her 29th. Twice named GNAC Player of the Week, she is the JWU all-time leader at 10.41 aps and second at 4,456 assists.
The three-time GNAC Libero of the Year, Nicolas produced 4.65 digs per set. Twice this year she's recorded a season-high 29 digs to help move her up to sixth in JWU history at 1,473 digs. The San Francisco native is second all-time with 4.65 digs per set. Five times this year Nicolas has been named GNAC Libero of the Week.
The senior class ended their career with a 130-9 record, including 47-0 in the GNAC. They appeared in three-straight NCAA Regional Championships matches and won the 2017 title. That team set the NCAA Division III record with 67 consecutive sets won.