November
1, 2005
Release courtesy of Larry Happel, Central College sports information
director
PELLA,
IOWA . . . Former Central College volleyball standout
Abbie Sogard (formerly Abbie Brown) is among six players named
to the NCAA Division III volleyball 25th anniversary team.
The
NCAA is celebrating the 25th anniversary of women’s championships
during the 2005-06 academic year.
Sogard,
a 6-foot-1 middle hitter, was the AVCA Division III national
player of the year in 1998 and 1999 and was a first-team AVCA
all-America honoree in 1997, 1998 and 1999. The 2000 Central
graduate led the Dutch to three final four appearances and two
NCAA championships in her three seasons at Central. She was
a three-time national all-tournament team selection as well.
Sogard, a former Iowa high school player of the year at Eldora,
had a strong freshman season at Kansas State University before
transferring to Central in 1997.
Sogard
holds Central records for most kills in a match (34) and season
(631), and had a record 4.7 kills per game career average. Combined
with her 374 kills at Kansas State, Sogard compiled 2,112 for
her career.
During
her three seasons, the Dutch posted a 114-6 record.
Joining
Sogard on the honor squad are Washington-St. Louis (Mo.) middle
hitter Amy Albers (1991-94), Juniata (Pa.) setter Heather Blough
(1991-94), Elmhurst (Ill.) setter/outside hitter Therese Dorigan
(1983-87), Wis.-Oshkosh setter Christina Southward (1998-2001)
and UC San Diego outside hitter Vikki Van Duyne (1988-91).
The
NCAA began sponsoring women’s championships in 1981 and
the first women’s championship awarded was the 1981 Division
III cross country title, won by Central. Today the NCAA sponsors
44 women’s championships in 20 sports, providing more
than 150,000 women with an opportunity to compete each year.
The
NCAA used a panel composed of current and former coaches, administrators,
sports information directors, student-athletes and coaches association
members to make the selections, relying on historical data and
results from online public voting.
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