Nov. 18, 2008

A-Sun Awards and Honors

MACON, Ga. - Channing Salava received Freshman of the Year honors and Cat Mundy was a First Team All-Conference selection for the second season in a row in the annual Atlantic Sun Awards and Honors list released Tuesday.

Senior middle hitter Emily Cahill was named to the Second Team All-Conference team for the third season in a row, joining middle hitter Jenny Gray and Salava. Salava rounded out her honors with an appearance on the All-Freshman team with outside hitter Maggie Johnson.

The Bruins - finishing with the most overall wins in the conference - were well represented in the postseason honors list. Belmont is the only school in the A-Sun to be represented on the First Team in each of the past five seasons. The Second Team All-Conference Team features three Bruins and the All-Freshman Team includes two. With five Bruins selection throughout all three teams, Belmont garnered the most players in the conference to be recognized. The last time Belmont has had a total of five players recognized on all-conference teams was 2004.

Mundy joins Colleen Nilson (2004-05) as the only two Bruins to garner back-to-back first team all-conference selections. The Dallas, Texas native became the sixth player in Belmont history to record 1,000 career kills and will finish third on Belmont's career kills list, currently with 1,283. With a 3.81 GPA in Business and Marketing, Mundy was selected as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team member this season. Mundy is ranked fourth in the conference in kills per set (3.40) and fifth in total aces (44).

Salava has contributed all 30 matches as a freshman and ranks second in the conference in assists per set (9.67) and total assists (1,103). The native of Clearwater, Fla., has 153 kills on the season and is tied for the fifth-best hitting percentage in the conference (.308). Salava ranks 16th in the Nation in aces per set with 0.49 (55 total) -- helping Belmont rank 3rd in the Nation as a team in aces per set. Nilson, also a setter, was the last Bruin to receive Freshman of the Year honors in 2004.

Senior middle hitter Emily Cahill receives her third-straight second team all-conference nod as the conference leader hitting percentage with .346 (174-50-358), good for 63rd in the Nation. The native of Lakeside Park, Ky., will graduate with the best career hitting percentage in Belmont history (.343).

Jenny Gray earns her first postseason all-conference recognition as Belmont's leader blocks with 88 (0.78 per set). The only junior on Belmont's roster is fourth in the conference in hitting percentage .308 (226-60-539). A native of Greenwood, Ind., Gray has six matches with five or more blocks, featuring a career-high of eight blocks against Florida Gulf Coast.

Freshman outside hitter Maggie Johnson played in all of Belmont's 30 matches. The native of Naperville, Ill., is the only freshman on Belmont's team to record over 200 kills and has led team in kills during six matches. Johnson ranks second on the team in kills per set (2.35) over 99 sets.

The Bruins will return to action as the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament to play either No. 3 Jacksonville or No. 6 Campbell at 4 p.m. CST on Thursday from Macon, Ga.