Thornton named AUS Volleyball MVP, Aucoin earns AUS Coach of the Year honors

2009-10 AUS Women's Volleyball Major Awards Announced
Courtesy Atlantic University Sport

February 18, 2010 (HALIFAX, NS) - Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2009-10 women's volleyball major award winners as selected by the Atlantic conference’s head coaches.

Second year left side Catherine Thornton (Kobe, Japan) of the StFX X-Women has been named the Atlantic University Sport Most Valuable Player.

Catherine, an academic all-Canadian, ranked fifth in AUS kills (2.93 per game) and fifth in scoring (3.34 points per game) this season and helped the X-Women program to a first place finish with an 11-7 record. She recorded 10 or more kills in 14 of 18 matches this season.

"Having had her ACL reconstructed for the second time 13 months ago, being named the AUS MVP is a testament to her dedication, work ethic and perseverance," says StFX head coach Michelle Aucoin. "In just in her second year of eligibility, Catherine is an explosive attacker and strong server with excellent ball control who brings out the best in everyone around her, including me. She has been a key component to our team’s success."

Thornton, who was named a first team all-star earlier this week, is the first ever player from StFX to be named the AUS women's volleyball Most Valuable Player. She will look to become the first Atlantic conference player to be named CIS Player of the Year since 1981-82, when Dalhousie's Karen Massen won the award.

The 2009-10 AUS Rookie of the Year is Meg Rector of the Acadia Axewomen. A native of Milton, ON, Rector had an outstanding freshman season with the third place Axewomen, leading the conference in hitting percentage (0.311), finishing eighth in blocks (0.82 per game) and leading all AUS rookies in scoring with 2.70 points per game.

"In just her first year with our program, Meg has been a leader both on and off the court," says Acadia head coach Joffre Ribout. "Her stats do not reflect her outstanding blocking ability as she touches many balls and takes away a lot of the court. She led the league in hitting efficiency and found ways to score all season, often with two blockers opposing her."

The only other Acadia player to win this award was Lori-Beth MacEwen following the 2000-01 season. No Atlantic conference player has ever won the Mark Tennant Award as the CIS Rookie of the Year.

Cape Breton University's Kristen Ryan (Port Hastings, NS) is the 2009-10 AUS Libero of the Year. Ryan, in her third year of eligibility with the Capers, finished second in the Atlantic conference in digs this season, averaging 4.90 per game.

"Kristen has been the anchor of our defense since she arrived at CBU and we constantly find ways to increase her responsibilities on the court." says Capers head coach Claude Lapré. "Her statistics are impressive and her contributions to the team in terms of ball control and court coverage often have our opponent's trying to avoid her as much as possible."

Ryan becomes the first CBU athlete to be named the Atlantic conference's top Libero since the award was established in 1999-00. No Atlantic conference player has yet been recognized as the CIS Libero of the Year.

StFX X-Women head coach Michelle Aucoin has been selected by her peers as the 2009-10 Atlantic University Sport women's volleyball Coach of the Year. Aucoin, a native of Dartmouth, NS, in her fourth season as head coach of the StFX program, guided the team to a first place finish and an 11-7 regular season record.

The regular season crown is the first for the X-Women program, who won their final seven regular season matches (and 10 of their last 11) after a 1-6 start to the year. StFX defeated every team in the conference at least once this season and the 11 regular season wins are the most since the 1996-97 season when they finished in fourth place with a 13-5 record. Four of her players, including league MVP Catherine Thornton, were named AUS all-stars earlier this week.

"Michelle is an outstanding coach who came to StFX with a plan to build a championship caliber program," commented Leo MacPherson, Director of Athletics and Recreation at StFX. "Her decisions are always based on the best interest of the team and her success can be attributed to work ethic, energy, drive and focus on the student-athletes."

Michelle will represent the AUS as the nominee for CIS Coach of the Year at next month's CIS awards banquet in Edmonton, AB. Moncton head coach Monette Boudreau-Carroll is the only AUS coach to ever be named the CIS Coach of the Year.

The Atlantic University Sport Student-Athlete and Community Service Award winner and nominee for the CIS Thérèse Quigley Award is Jillian Blanchard from the UNB Varsity Reds. This award is presented annually to the player who best represents the balance between athletics, academics and community service.

Blanchard, a fourth year left side from Saint John, NB, is a three-time conference all-star and was the 2006-07 AUS Rookie of the Year. On the court, Jillian's athletic performances speak for themselves as she led the V-Reds this season in kills (2.51 per game), aces (0.28 per game) and total digs with 268.

Blanchard is a three-time CIS academic all-Canadian and a two-time Dean's List student at the University of New Brunswick. She will represent UNB later this year as a nominee for the prestigious James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award which is given annually to a student within Atlantic University Sport who has demonstrated, in addition to competence in scholastic endeavours and excellence in sport, qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and citizenship.

Jillian's volunteer work includes working with the "LINKS" literacy program (tutoring students with learning disabilities), helping out as a guided reading aid for Grade 1 students at a local elementary school and volunteering her time at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton. She has also given her time to assist at the Women's Centre on the UNB campus, which promotes living and working in an atmosphere of mutual respect, understanding, safety and equality.

A member of UNB's Athletic Council, Blanchard was involved in organizing the team's "Think Pink" initiative to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. She also finds time to give back to her sport by coaching girls volleyball at a local middle school. 

"Jill has the ability to manage so many things and excels in everything she does," says UNB head coach John Richard. "To be an academic all-Canadian and volunteer with almost every initiative one could find, all while excelling in the sport of volleyball speaks to her impressive time management skills and commitment to being a complete student-athlete."

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The 2010 Subway Atlantic University Sport women's volleyball championship is being held this weekend at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, NS. The winner will be crowned AUS champions and will advance to the 2010 CIS Women's Volleyball Championship, March 5-7, hosted by the University of Alberta.

The 2010 Subway Atlantic University Sport women's volleyball championship schedule is as follows:

Friday, February 19th
- Quarter-final #1: Acadia (3rd) vs. Dalhousie (6th), 6:00pm
- Quarter-final #2: UNB (4th) vs. Cape Breton (5th), 8:00pm

Saturday, February 20th
- Semifinal #1: StFX (1st) vs. Lowest Remaining Seed, 4:30pm
- Semifinal #2: Saint Mary's (2nd) vs. Highest Remaining Seed, 7:00pm

Sunday, February 21st
- Championship Game: Semifinal Winners, 2:00pm