MIAMI, Fla. (November 18, 2020) – The Sun Conference announced on Wednesday its award winners for the 2020 volleyball season.
 
For the third-straight year, Keiser outside hitter Abbie Seward was named the Sun Conference Player of the Year. A three-time First-Team All-Sun Conference selection, Seward played in all 13 matches for the Seahawks, leading the team and conference in kills with 218. The native of Bloomington, Illinois, was second on the team in digs (130) and tallied four double-double on the year. A four-time Sun Conference Player of the Week, Seward was named the NAIA National Attacker of the Week back on October 6.
 
Ave Maria sophomore Lily Witkoski was named the Sun Conference Setter of the Year. A four-time Sun Conference Setter of the Week in 2020, Witkoski was a first-team all-conference selection this year. The Rochester, New York native spent nine games as AMU's main setter, during which time she averaged 9.6 assists per set. Overall, Witkoski averaged 5.1 assists per set in league play. She also recorded 27 total blocks in conference action.
 
Ave Maria sophomore Victoria Schein was named the Sun Conference Libero of the Year. A two-time Sun Conference Defender of the Week, Schein was named a First-Team All-Sun Conference honoree in 2020. The native of Greenfield, Wisconsin, led the conference in digs (198 in TSC action). She eclipsed the 600-career dig plateau (615) during AMU’s 3-2 win in the quarterfinals over Warner on Monday. She currently ranks No. 25 in the nation in total digs.
 
Ave Maria outside hitter Zelie Kessler was named the Sun Conference Freshman of the Year. The first-year Gyrene from Avon, Ohio, averaged 2.48 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .185. Kessler registered 154 total kills and recorded 164.0 points in 62 sets played. She reached double-digits in kills seven times this season, including a career-high 13 (three times). Kessler also recorded 18.0 total blocks and 39 digs as a freshman.
 
Ave Maria’s Sonya Leszczynski and Keiser’s James Rogers were named the Sun Conference Co-Coaches of the Year. Leszczynski guided the Gyrenes to a 10-3 mark in Sun Conference play and the No. 2 seed in this year’s championship. Rogers helped the Seahawks claim their second-straight regular-season title with a perfect 13-0 record in the Sun Conference. Both coaches are guiding their programs to the first volleyball championship appearances in school history.
 
Southeastern outside hitter Maggie Seagren was named the Sun Conference Champion of Character. Seagren is a unique individual who finds the time to not only excel on the court and in the classroom but to also touch the lives of people around her locally and across the world. She is involved in student leadership on campus, part of SEU’s department of spiritual formation team, and also is heavily involved in missions. Seagren most recently has gone to the Dominican Republic doing missions with local villages.
 
 
2020 Sun Conference Volleyball Award Winners
 
Player of the Year 
Abbie Seward (SR), OH, Keiser  
 
Setter of the Year 
Lily Witkoski (SO), S, Ave Maria  
 
Libero of the Year 
Victoria Schein (SO), L/DS, Ave Maria 
 
Freshman of the Year 
Zelie Kessler, OH, Ave Maria  
 
Co-Coach of the Year 
Sonya Leszczynski, Ave Maria  
James Rogers, Keiser  
 
Champion of Character 
Maggie Seagren (JR), OH, Southeastern 
 

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On Mondy, the 2020 All-Sun Conference Teams were announced. Below are this year’s honorees.
 
2020  Sun Conference Volleyball All-Conference
 

First Team
Cabriella Bouterse, JR, OH	Ave Maria
Madelyn Haut, SO, MB	Ave Maria
Victoria Schein, SO, L/DS	Ave Maria
Lily Witkoski, SO, S	Ave Maria
Giovana Larregui Lopez, JR, OH	Coastal Georgia
Cassie Cox, JR, OH	Keiser
Amber Dilsaver, JR, MB	Keiser
Jordan Odom, SR, OH/DS	Keiser
Abbe Seward, SR, OH	Keiser
Emily Boehlein, SR, RS/MB	Southeastern
Kyleigh Beecham, SO, S	St. Thomas
Arianna Bolinger, JR, OH	St. Thomas
Tyran Chenault, SR, MB	St. Thomas
Victoria Fernandez, FR, L	St. Thomas
Second Team
Erica Chenard, SR, MB	Ave Maria
Gardieliz Laureano-Anujar, SR, S	Coastal Georgia
Alison Muldrow, SR, MB	Coastal Georgia
Talia Myers, JR, MB	Keiser
Brooklyn VandeHei, JR, S	Keiser
Aurora Alderman, SR, DS/L	Warner
TarriAnne Henry, FR, S/RS	Warner
Svenja Koenig, GS, MB	Webber International

ABOUT THE SUN CONFERENCE
Now entering its 31st year, The Sun Conference, a 501c3 organization, continues to be one of the most successful intercollegiate athletic conferences in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Under the guidance of Commissioner Dustin Wilke, the league sponsors championships in 18 NAIA sports: Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Golf, Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track and Field and Women’s Volleyball.  Corporate sponsorship of the Conference has increased ten-fold; but most importantly, every Sun Conference member institution earned the NAIA’s prestigious 5-Star Champions of Character Award in each of the last five years. Learn more @ thesunconference.com