Dec. 11, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Atlantic Coast Conference swept the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s East Region awards by winning Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and placing 12 of the 14 members on the All-East Region team. Miami’s Nicole Lantagne Welch earned Coach of the Year honors, while Hurricane outside hitter Lane Carico took Freshman of the Year honors. Seven schools placed a total of 12 members on the All-East Region team. Four others were named Honorable Mention All-East Region.

Student-athletes from seven of the 12 Atlantic Coast Conference’s member institutions were named All-Region. Clemson led the league with three honorees, followed by ACC Co-Champions Duke and North Carolina with two each. Georgia Tech also notched two selections while Miami, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest each took one place on the team. Four other student-athletes from the ACC were named Honorable Mention All-East Region.

Miami head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch was voted as the region’s top coach after she added 12 wins to her team’s total from 2007. For Welch, it was her second regional coach of the year honor and the first in school history for Miami. Welch, in her eighth season, finished the year at 26-6 and 14-6 in ACC play to tie for third place after being picked to place ninth in the pre-season poll. MIami had its best season since 2002, when the ‘Canes reached the Sweet 16 and finished runner-up in the Big East at 27-6. Miami is second in the league in service aces and third in hitting percentage for the year.

Lane Carico of Miami earned AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year honors after an outstanding first season for the Hurricanes. Carico, an outside hitter from Manhattan Beach, Calif., was named ACC Freshman of the Year earlier in the month. Carico ranked among the league leaders in kills and service aces. She finished sixth in both kills with 3.18 per set and service aces with 3.18 per set. She played 116 sets in all 32 matches for the ‘Canes.

2008 AVCA All-East Region Team
Stephanie Barry	Delaware
Heather Brooks	North Carolina
Lane Carico	Miami
Kallie Corbin	Liberty
Brianna Eskola	North Carolina
Danielle Hepburn	Clemson
Talisa Kellogg	Georgia Tech
Callie Miller	Georgia Tech
Rachael Moss	Duke
Natalie Mullikin	Wake Forest
Kelsey Murphy	Clemson
Jourdan Norman	Duke
Lia Proctor	Clemson
Felicia Willoughby	Virginia Tech
2008 AVCA Honorable Mention All-East Region Team
Kellie Catanach	Duke
Angelica Ellis	Miami
Chelaine McCarthy	Liberty
Jordana Price	Florida State
Lauren Prussing	North Carolina
Shannon Sitzmann	Winthrop
Erin Skipper	William & Mary
2008 AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year
Lane Carico, Miami
2008 AVCA East Region Coach of the Year
Nicole Lantagne Welch, Miami