Hofstra University sophomore setter Shellane Ogoshi (Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt) became the Pride's first conference player of the year since 2000 when she was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year this evening, in addition to earning CAA Setter of the Year accolades at the CAA Awards Banquet, held this evening at David S. Mack Hall on the campus of Hofstra University.
Ogoshi, also a first team All-CAA selection, is the Pride's first-ever CAA Player of the Year honoree and Hofstra's first conference player of the year since Stefanie Rewitz garnered the honor in 2000 when Hofstra was a member of the America East Conference.
Also earning all-conference honors this evening were senior outside hitter Tessa Sphar (San Jose , CA/Archbishop Mitty) and sophomore right side Talita Silva (Raritan, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan). Sphar was named to the first team, while Silva garnered second team honors.
The heart and soul of the Pride this season, Ogoshi leads Hofstra with 1,097 assists and is second in digs with 411. She is averaging 11.08 assists per game and 4.15 digs per game, while also notching a team second-best 19 services aces. Ogoshi has posted a .308 hitting percentage, knocking down 95 kills on 250 attempts with just 18 errors. The 2004 CAA Rookie of the Year, Ogoshi has hit at a .330 clip in conference matches only, while her assists per game average went up nearly an assist per game to 11.83. Ogoshi "quarterbacked" Hofstra to a league-leading .246 hitting percentage this season, nearly 20 points higher than James Madison, the second-ranked squad in hitting percentage. Individually, Ogoshi ranked fourth in assists and eighth in digs overall in the regular season, while helping the Pride defensively to the tune of 17.69 digs per game, good for second in the conference. Ogoshi was a member of the CAA All-Rookie team in 2004 and earned CAA All-Tournament honors in addition to being named the team's Coca-Cola Most Valuable Player. A three-time CAA Player of the Week this season (October 3, 31 and November 14), Ogoshi is featured in this week's Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" section.
One of the greatest to ever put on a Hofstra uniform, Sphar garners first team accolades after finishing the regular season second on the team in kills (317), third in digs (320) and first in service aces (21). Just the fifth member of Hofstra's 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club, Sphar enters the CAA Championship with 1,354 career kills and 1,096 digs. Her kills total ranks fifth all-time at Hofstra and she is 10th all-time in digs. Seventh in the CAA in kills per game (3.17), Sphar also averaged over three digs per game (3.20) as well. In conference matches only, Sphar led Hofstra with 230 kills and her 3.29 kills per game in conference matches ranks seventh. One of the more decorated volleyball student-athletes in recent memory, Sphar was named to the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District I first team for the second consecutive year on November 10. By virtue of district first team honors, Sphar is now eligible for national Academic All-America honors which will be voted on later this month. The first team All-CAA selection is Sphar's third straight first team all-conference honor.
Hofstra's third honoree, Silva follows up her CAA All-Rookie selection of a year ago by earning second team all-conference honors this season. The team leader in kills (329) and kills per game (3.32), Silva also ranks second in blocks (63), third in assists (101), fourth in service aces (15) and fifth in digs (192). In the CAA rankings, Silva was fifth in kills per game and seventh in points per game (3.82). Silva's season and career-high of 24 kills came in Hofstra's exciting five-game win over Virginia Commonwealth on October 29 that extended the Pride's season-long win streak to 10 matches.
Hofstra finished the regular season with an overall mark of 19-7 and a CAA record of 16-2. By virtue of its first place finish in the CAA standings, the Pride will host the CAA Championship in the Volleyball Venue at the Physical Fitness Center this Friday-Sunday, November 18-20. The tournament opens on Friday as fourth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth battles #5-seed Georgia State at 5 p.m. in the first opening round match before third-seeded and defending champion Towson faces sixth-seeded James Madison in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. Hofstra will face the winner of the first opening round match on Saturday at 2 p.m. in semifinal #1 before second-seeded William & Mary faces the Towson/James Madison winner at 4:30 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.The winner of the 2005 CAA Volleyball Championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship.
2005 ALL-CAA VOLLEYBALL TEAM
(Selected by CAA Volleyball Coaches)
First Team
Player, School Cl. Pos. Hometown/High School
Caitlin Geraghty, William & Mary Sr. MB King's Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's
Shellane Ogoshi, Hofstra So. S Honolulu, Hawaii/Roosevelt
April Hoffman, Towson Sr. OH Omaha, Neb./Millard North
Tessa Sphar, Hofstra* Sr. OH San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty
Alex Blenche, Georgia State Sr. OH Bucharest, Romania/Redlands CC
Ludmila Francescatto, VCU Jr. OH Fraiburga, Brazil/Arizona Western Coll.
Second Team
Player, School Cl. Pos. Hometown/High School
Talita Silva, Hofstra So. RS Raritan, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan
Christina Grempler, Towson Jr. MB Severna Park, Md./Severna Park
Allyson Halls, James Madison So. MB Columbus, Ohio/Olentangy
Kim Snider, Towson So. S Carrollton, Texas/Hebron
Kate Woffindin, William & Mary Sr. OPP Allentown, Pa./William Allen
Colleen Walsh, Delaware So. OH Cleveland, Ohio/Regina
2005 CAA Player of the Year: Shellane Ogoshi, Hofstra
2005 CAA Setter of the Year: Shellane Ogoshi, Hofstra
2005 CAA Rookie of the Year: Kim Mount, William & Mary
2005 CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year: Kathleen Hawley, William & Mary
2005 CAA Coach of the Year: Debbie Hill, William & Mary
* - First Team All-CAA in 2004
CAA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Player, School Cl. Pos. Hometown/High School
Kim Mount, William & Mary Fr. S Corte Madera, Calif./Redwood
Ana Luiza De Borja, VCU Fr. OH Florianopolis, Brazil/Colegio Geracao
Kelly Gibson, Delaware Fr. OH Taos, N.M./Taos
Kelsey McNamara, James Madison Fr. OH Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North
Alison Essink, Towson Fr. L Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southwest
Lauren DeTurk, Northeastern Fr. RS Yucaipa, Calif./Yucaipa
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