Tiger Volleyball Trio Earns All-America Honors

Katie Sumner

Kimmie Dyer

Christina Gilene

Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University volleyball standouts Katie Sumner, class of 2012 from Dublin, Ohio, Kimmie Dyer, class of 2012 from Copley, Ohio, and Christina Gilene, class of 2013 from Milford, Ohio, have earned All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

This is the first All-America honor for Dyer and Gilene and the second for Sumner. After all three earned first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors for their 2011 achievements, Sumner was voted second-team All-America and Dyer and Gilene were awarded positions on the third team. The All-America awards will be presented at the AVCA's annual banquet on Thursday, Nov. 17, the day before the national quarterfinals, hosted by Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

 Sumner, also a second-team All-America selection in 2010, previously earned her third straight first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and second straight first-team All-Great Lakes Region awards, in addition to becoming the ninth Wittenberg volleyball student-athlete to earn NCAC Player of the Year honors. Wittenberg players have been named NCAC Player of the Year a total of 13 times.

Sumner led Wittenberg in the regular season with 86 blocks (0.97 per set) and to go along with 190 kills (third on the team), 20 service aces (fourth on the team) and 61 digs. Her attack percentage was a team-best .349 (minimum of 200 attack attempts) and she is on pace to finish in the top three in school history for career attack percentage. Sumner added NCAC All-Tournament Team and NCAA  Division III Calvin College Regional All-Tournament team honors.

Gilene became just the second Tiger to earn NCAC Libero of the Year honors before claiming her first All-Great Lakes Region award. A year ago, Gilene was named honorable mention All-NCAC and all-region.

Gilene led the Tiger defense, ranking third in the conference with 489 digs during the regular season. While appearing in a team-high 104 sets, Gilene made just 20 service reception errors in nearly 500 attempts, and she contributed 27 service aces to rank third on the team. Gilene was named NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player for her contributions to the Tigers' sweeps of Wooster and Hiram in that competition before earning a spot on the NCAA Division III Calvin College Regional All-Tournament team.

Dyer earned first-team All-NCAC in 2011 after topping the team in kills in the regular season with 289 and ranking second in digs with 254. She also added 42 service aces to rank second on the team, and her .280 attack percentage was third-best on the team and ranked 10th in the conference. Dyer was credited with just eight reception errors in 290 attempts during the 2011 season.

Dyer went on to grab first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors and first-team Capital One Academic All-District honors as well. She capped a banner week with NCAA Division III Calvin College Regional Tournament MVP honors after leading the Tigers to three wins in three days to gain a berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals.

The Tigers finished the 2011 regular season with records of 31-3 overall a perfect 16-0 in the conference after winning their 17th NCAC regular season and tournament championships. Wittenberg earned its 16th straight NCAA Division III Tournament bid (17th overall) and advanced to the national quarterfinals with wins over Rose-Hulman, 13th-ranked Heidelberg and top-ranked defending national champion Calvin.

Written By: Ryan Maurer

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