Contact: Chassidy Holloway, Assistant Executive Director, holloway@midwestconference.org
 
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa — The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced the 2019 Volleyball All-Conference Teams and major award winners on Friday night as the honorees were recognized between semifinals at the MWC Tournament.
 
Cornell College’s Sydney Meeker was named All-Conference First Team and the 2019 MWC Volleyball Player of the Year. Meeker was named the league’s Defensive Performer of the Week five times this fall. The junior libero is currently fourth all-time on Cornell’s digs list with 1,482 and averaged 5.58 digs per set in Conference play this season. Fellow junior teammate, Allison Eikenberry joins Meeker as a First Team selection and recipient of the league’s Elite 20 award. Rams featured on the Second Team were freshman Rory Light and sophomore Alissa McEndaffer.
 
Illinois College’s Kristy Duncan was selected by her peers as the 2019 MWC Volleyball Coach of the Year. Duncan’s squad capped off the regular-season with a third-place finish and recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons. Four of Duncan’s players received All-Conference honors – Seniors Elizabeth Ganley and Ali Pankey made the First Team while senior Maddie Ramsey and sophomore Abbie Horstmann made Second Team.
 
The Green Knights picked up three First Team selections, one Second Team selection and the Volleyball Newcomer of the Year. Seniors Emily Rohloff and Lexie VanHiel along with sophomore Grace Baumann are all First Team members representing St. Norbert College, while sophomore Liz Maastricht earned Second Team honors and the Newcomer of the Year award.  
 
Two-time Offensive Performer of the Week, junior Kaylin Kuhn represented the fourth seeded Grinnell College Pioneers on the First Team. Fellow sophomore teammate Julianna Roth was a Second Team selection for Grinnell.
 
The Prairie Fire of Knox College were also recognized with the Team Sportsmanship Award for their tremendous sportsmanship this season.
 
The full list of honorees can be found below:
 
2019 MWC Volleyball Player of the Year – Sydney Meeker, Cornell College
 
2019 MWC Volleyball Newcomer of the Year – Liz Maastricht, St. Norbert College
 
2019 MWC Volleyball Coach of the Year – Kristy Duncan, Illinois College
 
2019 MWC Volleyball Elite 20 Award Recipient – Allison Eikenberry, Cornell College
 
2019 MWC Volleyball Team Sportsmanship Award – Knox College Prairie Fire
 
2019 MWC Volleyball First Team All-Conference
Grace Baumann, St. Norbert College
Allison Eikenberry, Cornell College
Elizabeth Ganley, Illinois College
Kaylin Kuhn, Grinnell College
Sydney Meeker, Cornell College
Ali Pankey, Illinois College
Emily Rohloff, St. Norbert College
Lexie VanHiel, St. Norbert College
 
2019 MWC Volleyball Second Team All-Conference
Riley Cook, Monmouth College
Isabel Donnelly, Lake Forest College
Abbie Horstmann, Illinois College
Rory Light, Cornell College
Liz Maastricht, St. Norbert College
Alissa McEndaffer, Cornell College
Maddie Ramsey, Illinois College
Julianna Roth, Grinnell College