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The Dodgeville Chronicle 2011 All-Area volleyball team has been announced.
The team was chosen by vote of our sportswriters and area coaches.
The staff has also chosen Rachel Slaney, a 5-9 freshman middle hitter from Barneveld and Sammie Simon, a 5-6 senior setter from Iowa-Grant as the small school players of the year.
Large school player of the year is Hannah Buringa, a 6-0 junior middle hitter from River Valley.
Co-coaches of the year are Barneveld's Kevin Knudson and Iowa-Grant's Marla Simon.
Following are the bios of the players who are honored as All-Area volleyball players.

FIRST TEAM
RACHEL SLANEY
Rachel is a 5-9 freshman middle hitter from Barneveld who became the first freshman girl from Barneveld to make first team all-conference in volleyball. She was honored as a Six Rivers East choice.
Rachel was second on the Barneveld team in kills with 160 and led the team in blocks and digs with 82 and 119. Her coach, Kevin Knudson, said, "Rachel played all-around. She is a true hustler who plays the game with heart. It will be nice to have her the next three years."
HANNAH BURINGA
Hannah is a 6-0 junior middle hitter from River Valley who was first team all-SWC. She led the Blackhawks in blocks and kills and was number one in the SWC in block kills per game. She is coached by Lisa Roelke.
EMILY MITCHELL
Emily is a 5-11 junior middle blocker from Mineral Point. She was the team's captain and played all-around. She had 133 kills on the season along with 56 blocks. Her serving was at 63% and she had seven aces. She also had a 63% serve receive rate. She was named first team SWAL.
Emily was coached by Tori Dahl.
TAYLOR WIENKES
Taylor is a 5-9 senior middle hitter from Highland who was on the Division 4 state championship team last season. She led the Cardinals in kills and blocks.
Taylor made first team all-Six Rivers West.
She was coached by Maria Wineski.
SAMMIE SIMON
Sammie is a 5-6 senior setter for Iowa-Grant who is a two time SWAL first teamer. She was second in voting for the SWAL MVP this season.
Sammie served for 201 points, had 51 aces and a 95% serve percentage. She also had 64 kills, 549 assists on 1549 attempts for a 7.6 assist per game average. She also had 74 digs.
Sammie was also team captain the past two seasons and has been a four year letterwinner. She has been honored by The Dodgeville Chronicle and Telegraph Herald on their all-area teams.
"Sammie just loves volleyball and has such an instinct to go with her skills on the court," said her coach, Marla Simon. "She will be very hard to replace as a setter and team leader."
RACHELL FOREMAN
Rachell is a 5-4 senior libero from Iowa-Grant. She was a first team all-SWAL choice who served for 150 points, 27 aces and 163 digs. She had a 96% serve rate.
Rachell is a two year varsity letterwinner.
"Rachell became a very solid and dependable player for us in the back row and at the service line," said coach Marla Simon.

SECOND TEAM
MORGAN JOHNSON
Morgan is a 5-11 junior who was second team all-SWC as a middle hitter. She led River Valley in attack kill percentage and was fourth in the SWC in hitting percentage. She was also fourth in the SWC in block kills per game.
Morgan shared the captain role with Mackenzie Price. She is coached by Lisa Roelke.
SAMANTHA EVANS
Samantha is a 5-11 sophomore middle hitter for the Barneveld Eagles under the direction of Kevin Knudson. She was second team all-Six Rivers East and led the team in kills with 180. She was second in service points with 144 and served 29 aces.
Said Knudson, "Samantha is a consistent server, plays smart in the middle with her combination of tips and hard hits. She and Rachel (Slaney) make a very nice combination in the middle."
BROOKE LEE
Brooke is a 5-11 sophomore middle hitter from Dodgeville who was named Honorable Mention in the SWC this season. She is coached by Tricia Olson.
"She has a couple more years to really develop into the player I know she can be," Olson says. "She led our team in all areas with the most kills, aces and blocks. About halfway through the season she also started to play all the way around and accumulated digs as well. She led the team with 224 kills, 83 blocks and 57 aces."
JOSI OLSON
Josi is a 6-0 senior middle hitter for Iowa-Grant. She served for 116 points, 29 aces and 193 kills. She had 46 solo blocks and 28 block assists.
Josi's serve percentage was 88% and her kill average was 2.5 per game.
"Josi became our go-to hitter and when she wanted to dominate with hitting and blocking she could do the job," said coach Marla Simon.
LEIGH DRURY
Leigh is a 5-8 sophomore who was an outside hitter for Highland. She was a second team Six Rivers West choice.
Leigh was coached by Maria
Wineski.
LIZZY BRITT
Lizzy is a 5-7 junior middle hitter for Pecatonica.
Lizzy was named to the second team Six Rivers East. She was coached by Cher Schliem.
MICHELLE FRANCOIS
Michelle is a 5-4 junior setter for Pecatonica. She was honored by her teammates as the Vikings' MVP.
"Michelle was the sole setter on our volleyball," said coach Cher Schliem. "With a never-say-die attitude, Michelle always gave 100% and was very supportive of her teammates. It was no surprise when the team chose her as MVP. Michelle was the glue that held our team together through the highs and lows of the 2011 season."

THIRD TEAM
MORGAN PITTZ
Morgan is a 5-6 senior outside hitter/middle blocker who was a top player for the Pointers until an injury halted her season. She was a captain and played all-around.
"She was injured halfway through the season but continued her duties as captain to the fullest," said coach Tori Dahl. "She went above and beyond when she was on the bench."
Morgan was honorable mention SWAL.
MADDIE LAUBE
Maddie is a 5-9 junior outside hitter who also served as team captain for Barneveld. She was third on the team with 110 kills and led the team in serving with 148 points and 32 aces. She only had 11 service errors.
"She came on as the season went on and when she is hitting, she is hard to stop," said coach Kevin Knudson. "Look for her to have a great senior year."
TAYLOR STANEK
Taylor is a 5-8 freshman outside hitter from Dodgeville. She is coached by Tricia Olson.
"She is young, athletic and can play just about any sport she wants and will be good at it," Olson said. "She was close behind our leader, Brooke Lee, in kills with 198. She played extremely great defense and had the most digs on the team with 86."
SYDNEY CLARSON
Sydney was second team all-SWC as a libero. She led River Valley in offensive digs and was third in the conference in that category. She is coached by Lisa Roelke.
MACKENZIE PRICE
Mackenzie was all-SWC honorable mention as an outside hitter and was fourth in the conference in defensive digs. "She is a great all-around floor leader," said River Valley coach Lisa Roelke.
Price shared the captain role with Morgan Johnson.
ALYSSA LARSEN
Alyssa is a 5-6 senior outside hitter for Iowa-Grant. She served for 99 points, had 24 aces and a 95% serve percentage. She also had 120 kills and 77 digs.
"Alyssa really stepped into help with passing and serve receive," said coach Marla Simon. "She also provided us with some outside power hitting."

HONORABLE MENTION
RACHEL POPE
Rachel is a 5-5 senior outside hitter from Dodgeville and is coached by Tricia Olson.
"Rachel is an all-around athlete, great leader and plays with heart," Olson said. "She came on exceptionally strong at the end of the season, playing the best ball out of everyone. She was a floor leader and made crucial plays during some very exciting matches. Her overall athletic ability really helped her stand out on the floor."
MIKKAYLA KERSKA
Mikkayla is a 5-7 junior setter who was an honorable mention all-SWC choice for River Valley. She led the Blackhawks in assists, was second in service aces and fourth in the SWC in assists. She is coached by Lisa Roelke.
BROOKE GILBERTSON
Brooke is a 5-9 junior utility hitter for River Valley who was third in block kills for the Blackhawks and third in attack kills.
"She was one of the best right side blockers in the SWC but didn't get noticed on the all-conference ballot," said her coach, Lisa Roelke."
CARLY KRAEMER
Carly is a 5-5 sophomore setter from River Valley who was second in the SWC in service aces per game. She led the Blackhawks in service aces.
"Carly is a great all-around setter and one of the toughest sophomores in the conference," said coach Lisa Roelke.
PAULA PITTZ
Paula was a 5-0 sophomore defensive specialist for Mineral Point. Her serving rate was 95% and she had eight aces. Paula also had 61 digs and a 75% serve receive rate.
"She had the most hustle on the team," said her coach, Tori Dahl.
MARIA PUSTINA
Maria is a 5-6 senior outside hitter for Iowa-Grant. She served for 116 points, 21 aces and had 120 kills. Her serve percentage was 95%.
Maria was voted Most Improve Player for the Panthers this season and is a two year varsity letterwinner.
"Maria definitely was deserving of the Most Improved award and really filled in well as an outside hitter for us this year," said coach Marla Simon. "She was very consistent at the service line."
DANI ENGELKE
Dani is a 5-4 senior back row specialist for Iowa-Grant, was a captain and is a two year varsity letterwinner.
She served for 44 points, had 10 aces and 52 digs. Her serve percentage as 89%.
"Dani became one of our main leaders as the season went on and really did her job as team captain," said coach Marla Simon. "She really improved her back row play and became more consistent as the season went on."
ALISON SWENSON
Alison is a 5-4 senior defensive specialist at Pecatonica.
Alison was honorable mention Six Rivers East. She was coached by Cher Schliem.
EMILY WOLFE
Emily is a 5-5 senior outside hitter for the Highland Cardinals.
Emily was named to the honorable mention list for the Six Rivers West all conference team.
She was coached by Maria Wineski.
SHANAYA HEBGEN
Shanaya is a 5-1 sophomore setter for Highland. She was placed in a starting role last season for the Division 4 state champion Cardinals when Rachel Aide was out with an injury.
Shanaya was honorable mention all-Six Rivers West. She is coached by Maria Wineski.