Pacific Lutheran outside hitter Beth Hanna (Clackamas, Ore. / Clackamas HS), who set one school record and tied another in leading the Lutes to the Northwest Conference title and to a record- setting 23-win season, has been named the 2007 Division III American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Freshman of the Year.
In addition, Hanna earned AVCA Division III First Team All-America recognition, becoming the first- ever Pacific Lutheran volleyball player to receive that honor. Hanna’s teammate, senior setter Gina Di Maggio (Olympia, Wash. / Tumwater HS), has been named to the All-America second team.
“For both of those girls the accomplishments are nice, but those can only happen when the team does well,” PLU head coach Kevin Aoki said. “When a team does well, the individuals can really shine.”
In addition to earning those top national awards, Hanna earlier earned Northwest Conference Player of the Year, First Team All-Northwest Conference, AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year and AVCA First Team West Region recognition.
Hanna ranked fourth nationally with an average of 5.34 kills per game, easily surpassing the school record 5.01 kills per game set by Rachelle Snowdon in 1995. With a total of 486 kills, Hanna tied the school record for kills in a season established by Snowdon in 1993. Her .282 attack percentage was tops among all PLU players besides Di Maggio’s .295 percentage.
Di Maggio became the second Pacific Lutheran player ever to receive second team All-America recognition, joining former teammate Kati McGinn, who was so honored as a middle blocker in 2006. Di Maggio had a record-setting season herself, averaging 11.93 assists per game to break her own school record of 11.56 assists per game set during the 2004 season. She was ranked 19th nationally in that category. Di Maggio also shattered the PLU career record for average assists per game with 11.17, surpassing the 10.36 set by Kim Baldwin (1993-96). In addition to her All-American recognition, Di Maggio earned First Team All-Northwest Conference and AVCA First Team West Region honors.
The Lutes finished the season with a 23-4 overall record, including a school-record 19 consecutive victories. PLU won the Northwest Conference title with a 16-0 record, becoming the first team to go undefeated in conference play since 2000. Aoki earned Northwest Conference Coach of the Year and AVCA West Region Coach of the Year honors in addition to garnering his 200th victory in his 12th year of coaching at his alma mater.
