EWU players honored on eve of tournament

The Big Sky Conference has announced its volleyball All-Conference team and individual award winners for the 2009 season. The awards were decided following a vote by the league’s nine head coaches.

Four players from Eastern Washington University made the team.

The announcement came on the eve of the Big Sky Conference Tournament hosted by EWU, with the Eagles taking on Northern Colorado today at 7 p.m. At 5 p.m., Montana plays Portland State.

Senior Hayley Hills, junior Chenoa Coviare, senior Ashley Hamilton and junior Sara Todorovich all received accolades for their play on the court this season. Hills and Coviare were both named to the first team, while Hamilton was selected to the second team and Todorovich earned honorable mention.

Hills, an outside hitter from Quesnel, B.C., is making her third appearance on the first team, including the Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player award last season. She finished this season with a team-leading 363 kills, for an average of 3.56 kills per set. She is second on the career kills list with 1,416, trailing former Eagle Kim Exner (1995-98) who had 1,860 over her career.

Coviare, a middle blocker from Medford, Ore., is making her first appearance on the first team after earning second team honors last season. She is second on the team this season in kills with 300 for an average of 2.94 kills per set.

Hamilton was named to the second team this season after earning honorable mention accolades last season. A setter from Alpine, Utah, she is hitting at a .318 clip and has 976 assists for an average of 9.57 assists per set.

Todorovich, in her first season playing for the Eagles, earned honorable mention. A middle blocker from Walla Walla, Wash., she is currently third on the team in kills with 152, while hitting at a .323 clip.

Portland State’s Nique Fradella and Whitney Phillips were unanimous selections to the first team.

Fradella was also named this year’s Most Valuable Player.