Strantzali Named AVCA East Coast Region Player of the Year
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – University of Miami senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali and redshirt junior setter Haley Templeton were named to the 2017 AVCA All-East Coast Region team, with Strantzali becoming the third player in program history to earn the region’s Player of the Year honor.
Strantzali follows Hurricane standouts Lane Carico (2011) and Savanah Leaf (2014) to earn the top honor in the region and the ACC Player of the Year award in the span of one season. Strantzali’s selection comes after she posted 499 kills in her farewell collegiate season, leading the ACC with 4.56 kills per set. She had 43 service aces and 46 blocks to accumulate 569 points in 110 sets, an average of 5.17 points per set. Strantzali also broke Miami’s school record for kills in a match when she tallied 33 in a four-set victory over Louisville on Oct. 20. Strantzali earned her third AVCA All-Region honor in as many seasons, after being named honorable mention in 2015 and all-region in 2016.
“I’m happy for this honor because I worked really hard to get here and it’s great to see that people recognize it,” Strantzali said. “My team was supporting me throughout the entire year and they made my job easier without me having to worry about a lot of things. They were just great.”
Templeton returns on the list of regional honorees after being named Freshman of the Year in 2014 and an earning an honorable mention in 2015. The setter posted 1,175 total assists in 2017 – an average of 10.75 per set – while sitting only one out of the team’s 110 sets. With a season to go in her career, Templeton sits third in program history for career assists with 3,583. She trails second-placed Jill Robinson by 1,354 assists. Katie Gallagher is Miami’s all-time assists leader with 5,173 assists.
In addition to running the offense, Templeton also proved her attacking might from the setter position, averaging nearly a kill per set for a total of 102 kills. She accumulated 31 aces – including 17 in the last five matches to help the Canes go on a seven-match win streak and earn their first postseason victory in three seasons before falling in a four-set battle to second-seeded Florida in the second round of the 2017 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship. The setter’s eight service aces in Miami’s five-set win at Virginia on Nov. 17 are the second-most in a single match in program history.
“It means so much to be selected to be on the All-Region team and to be able to help my team compete in the NCAA Championship this year,” Templeton said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the constant support of my teammates and coaches. It was a great year for many of our players because everybody is improving so much and I can’t wait to see how much more we can improve as a team in the upcoming years to hopefully take us further in the NCAA tournament.”
“We are thrilled to have both Olga and Haley represent us on the AVCA All-Region team,” Miami head coach Jose “Keno” Gandara said. “We’re very proud of what we accomplished this season and these two were extremely significant pieces of that. They are both so deserving of this honor and more.”
For a full list of the 2017 AVCA East Coast honors, click here.
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