Dec. 6, 2011
CHICAGO - The UIC volleyball team held its 2011 season award banquet Nov. 30. Four members of the roster earned accolades, including junior Kelsey Safranek (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) who was named the team's Most Valuable Player.
Freshman Dominique Aramburu (Chicago, Ill./Mother McAuley) received the "Spirit Award", while freshman Sara Sternard (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Westmont) was named the "Most Improved Player" and redshirt junior Maggie Strus (Hickory Hills, Ill./Stagg) was awarded the Unity-Integrity-Commitment (UIC) Award, which is the only award voted on by the coaching staff.
Safranek garnered Most Valuable Player after completing the season with 466 kills (.162) to lead the Flames and the Horizon League. She also chipped in 246 digs. The outside hitter found a career-high 33 kills against Youngstown State on Nov. 5.
The junior earned her third-consecutive all-Horizon League honor this season as she was named the all-Newcomer team in 2009, followed by back-to-back spots on the all-Horizon League team. Safranek was named the Horizon League "Offensive Player of the Week" on Sept. 12 after her performance at the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, where she logged 55 kills in three matches.
Sternard, the "Most Improved Player", concluded the season with 156 kills at a clip of .273, a hitting percentage that placed her in seventh place among her fellow Horizon League members. She was named to the Horizon League's all-Newcomer team, in addition to being selected as the League's "Offensive Player of the Week" on Sept. 26. She earned the honor after leading her team to back-to-back- wins over Loyola (Sept. 23) and Green Bay on Sept. 24. She hit at a clip of .538 on eight kills in the victory over the Ramblers and improved to .600 (12 kills) against Green Bay.
Aramburu earned the "Spirit Award" as a team member with energy and a positive attitude. The freshman appeared in 68 sets on the season, where she had 163 digs for 2.40 per set.
Rounding out the awards, Strus was selected as the Unity-Integrity-Commitment (UIC) recipient, the only award voted on by the coaching staff. Strus, who began the season as an outside hitter, before transitioning to a defensive specialist picked up 350 digs (3.30/set) on the season. She also led the Flames in service aces with 28 and was ninth in the conference.
--UIC—
