THREE SAINTS AND CURRIER EARN CCAC POST-SEASON HONORS; KLEIN NAMED PLAYER OF YEAR IN BOTH CCAC AND REGION VII
For Immediate Release
November 19, 2007
Senior outside hitter Lisa Klein (Hall H.S./Ladd, IL) was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and led a group of three players and her coach Cara Currier to post-season recognition from the league’s coaches. Klein also added NAIA Region VII Player of the Year honors to her lengthy list of accolades.
Klein was joined on the CCAC’s first team by junior outside hitter Elaina Ambler (Mendota H.S./Mendota, IL). Junior libero Courtney Ambrosch (Joliet Township H.S./Joliet, IL) earned a spot on the honorable mention list. University of St. Francis sixth-year head coach Cara Currier was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.
The Lady Saints finished the 2007 season with a 29-20 overall record and captured a share of the CCAC title, their first since 1999. USF lost in the title game of the CCAC post-season championship tournament to Olivet Nazarene and fell in the semifinals of the NAIA Region VII Championship tournament to CCAC co-champ Saint Xavier.
Klein earned all-CCAC recognition for the fourth straight year. She broke the USF single-season kills record this season, a mark that was established by two-time NAIA national Player of the Year Ann Deen back in 1989. She finished the year with 804 kills and a hitting percentage of .291. She was named the CCAC Player of the Week six times over the course of the season and twice earned the same honor in Region VII. Klein was USF’s lone representative on the all-Region VII team and was the first Lady Saint to win Region Player of the Year honors since the region format began in 1996.
Ambler captured CCAC first-team recognition in her first season at USF after transferring from Kishwaukee Community College. She finished the season with 541 kills, second only to Klein’s record number of 804. She was also second on the team in assists with 57 and service aces with 60. She led the team in serve receptions with 869.
Ambrosch completed her first season at USF. She had not played college volleyball prior to this year, having attended St. Joseph’s (IN) and Loyola (IL) on softball scholarships prior to transferring to USF in January, 2007. Ambrosch led the Saints in digs with 627, digs per game with 4.21 and was fourth with 40 service aces. She was named the CCAC Libero of the Week on four separate occasions.
Currier, who came to USF as an assistant coach prior to the 2000 season, finished her sixth year with a composite 156-100 overall record. The 29 victories this season marked the second-highest total in her six seasons, trailing only the 35 the Saints won on their way to the NAIA national tournament in her first season back in 2002.
