MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University volleyball team secured five postseason Sunshine State Conference awards, the most in a single season by the program, in the official announcement released by the league office on Tuesday. Voting for the 22-member All-SSC team for the 2015 season was conducted among the league's volleyball coaches.
                                                            
In just her second year, NSU's head volleyball coach Jennifer King was voted as the co-Coach of the Year along with Sam Cibrone by their peers. It is the first Coach of the Year honor earned by King after guiding the Sharks program to a 19-12 finish and a 9-7 mark in the SSC good enough for fourth. The team set several milestones during King's second year; which started at the beginning of the season when the Sharks had their best start in program history at 10-1 and ended with being regionally ranked for the first time since 2009.
 
"I have a tremendous level of respect and admiration for the SSC coaches and to be recognized by this group is truly humbling," head coach Jenn King said. "With that said, I would not be in this position if it were not for the dedication of everyone in our program. I want to thank my players who gave more than any group I've had before, Mike Mominey and Kelley Kish for their constant support and excitement for our team and to my amazing staff. I have no doubt that our team would not have been as successful as we were without Chris, Dave, Jenny and of course Dan. I am truly blessed to lead this team and this program and I am so thankful for this award."
 
A trio of veterans earned their first-ever all conference recognition. Dana Holger (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.), Caitlin Donahue (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and Katie Pyles (Jr., Denver, Colo.) each secured spots on the All-SSC Second Team. Holger finished the season with a career-best 430 kills for the season which ranks sixth in single season history, while her 1,219 career kills ranks third among NSU's career kill leaders, just ahead of NSU Hall of Famer Sherri Waddell. Her 3.61 kills per set ranked third this season among all SSC hitters.
 
Donahue also earned her first All-SSC postseason honor. This year, she led the Sharks in hitting percentage finishing the year with a .304 percentage. She reached a career-best 15 kills twice this season and finished with career-highes in kills, kills/set and total blocks. As a middle, she finishes her career with 230 career blocks which ranks fifth all time in school history.
 
Joining the senior duo on the All-SSC Second Team, Pyles had a banner season. She finished the year with a personal best 1,097 assists, which ranked fourth in the SSC. Add to that, she led the team this year with 12 double-double performances and had one triple-double, the fourth of her career. In three years with the Sharks, she has 2,632 career assists which ranks third among NSU's career leaders.   
 
Wrapping up the list of All-SSC honorees for NSU is freshman outside hitter, Denvyr Tyler-Palmer (Jacksonville, Fla.). Tyler-Palmer set a new single-season kill record for a freshman finishing with 337 this season, which ranked second on the Sharks squad and her 2.78 kills/set was 12^th among the conference leaders. She debuts as a member of the All-SSC Newcomer Team for her first all-conference honor as a collegian.
 
"It has been a long time since NSU has received this many individual awards and it speaks to the nature of our team-centered culture," King said. "We don't have one star; we have many amazing contributors that make us successful. I am so excited that Dana and Caitlin can end their careers with this accolade and that Katie has been formally recognized for the tremendous setter she is. To have that many upperclassmen awarded is great in and of itself, but to also have Denvyr named to the Newcomer Team show that we are building and the direction the program is heading."

King added, "While it's difficult to have our season end before I think it should have, it does not change how proud I am of our accomplishments this year and how excited I am for the program as we continue to grow."
 
2015 Sunshine State Conference Volleyball Awards
Player of the Year: Berkley Whaley, Tampa & Jessica Wagner, Tampa
Freshman of the Year: Logan Holanchock, Tampa
Newcomer of the Year: Anna Siruckova, Saint Leo
Coach of the Year: Jennifer King, Nova Southeastern and Sam Cibrone, Saint Leo
 
2015 Volleyball All-SSC First Team

Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
OH	Berkley Whaley*~%	Tampa	Sr.	St. Petersburg, Fla.
RS	Marissa Lisenbee*+	Tampa	Sr.	Seminole, Fla.
MB	Jessica Wagner*	Tampa	Sr.	Cape Coral, Fla.
OH	Tjasa Kotnik%	Eckerd	Sr.	Ljubjana, Slovenia
S	Ashlee Hodgskin	Saint Leo	Sr.	Orlando, Fla.
RS	Anna Siruckova	Saint Leo	Sr.	Brno, Czech Republic
L	Brittany Jaco	Barry	Sr.	Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

 
2015 Volleyball All-SSC Second Team

Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
MB	Kayshia Brady^ •	Florida Southern	Sr	Welaka, Fla.
RS	Kendall Marotti+	Florida Southern	Sr	LaBelle, Fla.
OH	Dana Holger	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Lino Lakes, Minn.
MB	Caitlin Donahue	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Miami, Fla.
OH	Anna Tovo#	Florida Southern	Sr	Aiken, S.C.
S	Katie Pyles	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Denver, Colo.
L	Jamee Townsend	Saint Leo	Jr.	Plant City, Fla.

 
2015 Volleyball All-SSC Newcomer Team

Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
RS	Anna Siruckova	Saint Leo	Sr.	Brno, Czech Republic
MB	JaQuayla Baker	Eckerd	Jr.	Memphis, Tenn.
L	Logan Holanchock	Tampa	Fr.	St. Augustine, Fla.
OH	Kaitlin Drake	Barry	Jr.	Acampo, Calif.
OH	Denvyr Tyler-Palmer	Nova Southeastern	Fr.	Jacksonville, Fla.
MB	Olivia Hersey	Florida Tech	Fr.	Orlando, Fla.

 
2015 Volleyball All-SSC Honorable Mention

Pos.	Name	School	Yr.	Hometown
MB	Ivana Didanovic	Barry	Jr.	Belgrade, Serbia
MB	JaQuayla Baker	Eckerd	Jr.	Memphis, Tenn.
RS	Hope Lemon	Saint Leo	Jr.	Cedar Park, Texas
OH	Alea Hamm	Florida Tech	Sr.	Dothan, Ala.

* = 2014 First Team
^ = 2014 Second Team
# = 2014 Newcomer Team
~ = 2013 First Team
+ = 2013 Second Team
% = 2013 Newcomer Team
• = 2012 Newcomer Team